Ties of Peril
by Skywalker195
Summary: The Galactic Empire is in formation and it seems like there is little hope for the galaxy, but one Jedi who secretly managed to escape death within the Jedi Temple may be able to change the balance...or make it worse.
1. Opening Crawl

Disclaimer:

Star Wars is the property of Lucas film Ltd and it's associated producers. I do not claim to take any ownership in the franchise.

Star Wars:

**Ties of Peril**

The shift of power in the galaxy is nearing completion.

Plans put in place by the evil DARTH SIDIOUS have

at long last come to fruition, and he prepares to make

the declaration of a new order, THE GALACTIC EMPIRE.

In order to insure the swift transition, newly aligned

DARTH VADER has been ordered to the planet Mustafar

to force the Separatist's surrender Little does he know the

obstacles that await him there.

Meanwhile, as the galaxy falls into a new era of SITH

control, a new JEDI rises from the remains of the fallen

temple. It will be upon him that the ultimate fate of the

galaxy will reside...


	2. Confrontation

Chapter One:

**Confrontation**

Mustafar, from space, appeared like a tiny, glowing red tennis ball, caught between the two gas giants of Jestefad and Lefrani, the players in the great game of gravitational tug-of-war. On the planet, however, they were just Minuit sized obstacles, with the one, Lefrani, minutes away from eclipsing Priate.

Inside the Klegger Corporation Mining Facility, the shaken Separatist leaders cowered as they awaited this apprentice, Darth Vader, Lord Sidious had promised would come to them. Nute Gunray was the most cautious of them all, having been introduced to three Sith Lords already in this conflict, and not very optimistic towards meeting a fourth, especially given recent events. Gunray felt slightly less worried, however, when he thought of his 'secret'.

Located in a hanger attached to the control area, he had a standard Neimodian shuttle awaiting him and both of his aides. He hoped it wouldn't come to such an end, but war time was new to Neimodians, and as such he had to be prepared for any possibility. His thoughts on the matter seized immediately though when a B-1 droid spotted a ship approaching on the sensors.

"Sir, Lord Vader has arrived."

**xXx**

His fighter touched down softly against the mining facilities landing platform, throwing small particles of ash that escaped through the heat shield's back out upon the molten surface. Caring little for the small details of this barren world, Darth Vader stepped down from his ship. His cloak barely moved as he set a brisk pace toward the entrance to the compound, not bothering to focus direct attention upon his trusted astromech droid.

"Artoo, stay with the ship."

Artoo beeped with his disagreement, but something else he squealed out got Anakin to stop and turn to the droid still held within the tiny ship.

"A ship is approaching? How close..."

Before he could bother to finish his inquiry, the sounds of sub-light engines howling across the lower atmosphere caught his attention. As he looked up, he saw what appeared to be a silver teardrop cried from a dry, furiously hot sky. Once the ship moved close enough to spot more fine details, Anakin's jaw dropped slightly at the sight of his wife's ship.

_Padme...what are you doing here?_

It only took moments for the J-type star skiff to open it's landing gear and come to a smooth landing only a short distance away from Anakin's own fighter. By the time he ran to the side of the ship, the landing platform had already opened up to reveal a potbellied, but otherwise slim figured Padme running down with her arms already up. Sparing no time, Anakin ran up to her and the two embraced tightly, clinging to one another despite the heat radiating only meters below them.

"I saw your ship," Anakin said, raising his head slightly above Padme's shoulder so that he could move his mouth before backing up slightly, Padme's arms still grasping his shoulders "what are you doing out here?"

Padme gazed up into his eyes, barely able to hold back tears in her own.

"I was so worried about you...Obi-wan, told me terrible things." Padme stroked Anakin's arms as she spoke, but she stopped as Anakin's expression changed slightly from worried to serious, however his voice remained leveled.

"What things?"

"He said, you've turned to the dark side, that you...killed young-lings."

Anakin's surprise at last slipped through, however it went mostly unnoticed by Padme, who could barely hold her emotions together as she confronted her husband.

"Obi-wan is trying to turn you against me." Anakin tried to convince her, but Padme gave a slight shake to her head.

"He cares about us."

"...Us?"

"He knows...he wants to help you..." Padme regained her posture and began to stroke Anakin's arm again as a smile crossed Anakin's face, but not an honest one. "Anakin, all I want is your love."

"Love wont save you Padme, only my new powers can do that."

"At what cost? You're a good person, don't do this."

Anakin's expression of happiness towards his wife began to shed into the true beast inside, barely contained as her lack of understanding, to him, angered her nearly as much as Obi-wan's 'betrayal'.

"I wont lose you the way I lost my mother. I am becoming more powerful than any Jedi has ever dreamed of, and I'm doing it for you, to protect you."

"Come away with me," Padme placed both hands behind Anakin's head. "help me raise our child. Leave everything else behind while we still can."

Anakin and Darth Vader began to conflict internally, and more and more of Darth Vader was taking hold. It became more obvious how irritated and impatient he was becoming with Padme.

"Don't you see? We don't have to run away anymore. I have brought peace to the Republic. I am more powerful than the Chancellor, I...I can overthrow him!...

His fabricated of safety was beginning to fade to Padme. She could see it in his eyes and his voice. Her look became more serious as she took a slight step away from him while he continued to break in front of her.

"And together you and I can rule the galaxy! Make things the way we want them to be."

His look at last lost all of the innocence Anakin had once had, and all Padme could see was evil, fear, and suffering. She took another step away from him and shook her head as she collected her voice.

"I don't believe what I'm hearing...Obi-wan was right..._you've changed_."

Anakin turned his face to the side to try and recollect his anger from out-bursting in front of his beloved.

"I don't want to hear anymore about Obi-wan. The Jedi turned against me, don't you turn against me!" He finished with his voice in a low aggravation.

"I don't know you anymore." Padme shook her head and began to break down herself, succumbing to the terrible truth she already knew, but couldn't believe until now. She let out a few sobs as her eyes began to cloud with tears denser than the lava rushing below her "Anakin...you're breaking my heart. You're going down a path I can't follow."

"Because of Obi-wan?"

"Because of what you've done...what you plan to do.

_Anakin_

Anakin looked up as his wife spoke, giving his former mentor a look of hatred and defiance as he saw him, arms to his hips, standing at the top of her ship's ramp.

"Stop! Stop now, come back!" She moved closer to him, giving him a desperate look. "I love you!"

"LIAR!"

He lost control of his emotions and turned to exchange looks with Padme and Obi-wan. Padme looked herself to see Obi-wan standing at the top platform and her emotions mixed. _What is he doing here?_

"No!" She said, not knowing what else to say, as she looked between Anakin and Obi-wan, then back to Anakin.

"You're with him! You brought him here to kill me!"

"No..." Padme tried to speak, but was stopped as Anakin raised his left arm and her breath began to be choked from her body.

She raised both hands to her throat, trying to speak to him with a pleading look as Obi-wan moved down the platform to intervene.

"Let her go Anakin...let, her, go!"

At last, Anakin's hand shivered and Padme fell to the ground, released from his power, but reeling from what happened. Obi-wan and Anakin both glanced at her as she passed out until Anakin regained himself to stare back at Obi-wan.

"You turned her against me!"

"You have done that yourself."

Anakin began to pace, never letting Obi-wan out of his sight.

"YOU WILL NOT TAKE HER FROM ME!"

"Your anger and your lust for power have already done that." Obi-wan allowed his over-cloak to fall so that he was in his battle robes. Obi-wan began his own pacing so that now they were encircling one another. "You've allowed this dark lord to twist your mind until now...until now you have become the very thing you swore to destroy."

"Don't lecture me Obi-wan. I see through the lies of the Jedi. I do not fear the dark side as you do.

Obi-wan bent down as he got close enough to Padme to check on her as Anakin turned his back to them both.

"I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new empire."

Obi-wan stood back up and looked at his back with a look of confusion mixed with shock.

"Your new empire?"

"Don't make me kill you."

Obi-wan changed to a stance of regret, sorrow beginning to set in for his feeling of failure towards Anakin's training.

"Anakin, my allegiance is to the Republic, to democracy!"

"If you're not with me, then you're against me."

Obi-wan let go of his feelings. His former apprentice had taken to a belief that the galaxy had no gray areas, that there was only what he believed and what everyone else believed...and Anakin only believed in what he thought was right.

"Only a Sith deals in absolutes." Obi-wan reached across his utility belt to unfasten his lightsaber. "I will do what I must."

"You will try."


	3. Ashes

Just a Crazy-Man: Thank you for your support. I have a lot of work that I want to do, that I find myself incapable of doing due to real life.

"_What might have been the wind wending into holed hallways never before penetrated sounded like the funeral keening of spirits waiting to be avenged. What might have been the resonance of the footfalls of Commander Appo's stormtroopers sounded like the beat of distant war drums. What might have been smoke from the fires that should have gone out weeks earlier seemed more like wraiths writhing in torment." - _Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader (Darth Vader's thoughts)

Chapter Two:

**Ashes**

Most buildings on Coruscant that caught fire were usually put out and repaired within the day, or as was the case during the war, substantially damaged buildings were demolished. Neither was the case with the Jedi Temple, which under commands from Emperor Palpatine, had been allowed to burn until they had expended their fuel and debris was to be left untouched like a twisted tribute to those fallen in battle.

When the 501st legion invaded the temple, they only had one order, kill all Jedi and anyone who got in the way, which left considerable collateral damage. The Room of a Thousand Fountains was by far the best example.

The once great immense fountains that poured gleaming silvery water to nourish the many exotic plants now leaked out through broken water pipes and out the greenhouse's seven stories worth of busted glasses down on to the streets of Coruscant. Blaster fire left carbon scoring so bad against the walls in some places, it was hard to detect what the original color was and the once great mural of a lush terrestrial world now portrayed the temple, a fiery ruin.

And among the worst damage, both physical and psychological, was the number of mangled bodies still left to be removed from the carnage. The dead had it surprisingly easy now however. None of them had to run the risks of possible discovery and the resulting consequences like the few survivors would.

One amongst them wasn't so fortunate.

Laying face down in a pile of wet mud and amongst the charred remains of a Felucian giant purple mushroom, a Jedi awoke with a start, nearly sliding back down into the slush of filth he awoke from.

Taking a few first uneasy breaths, he got up on his knees into a squatting position and glanced around at the ruins. It took him a few moments to take in the destruction that had occurred around him, but for some reason he could remember little, only his name and a few vague details, nothing about his origins nor what might have caused all this damage.

Finding out what had happened and who he really was could wait, at least for the moment, as he moved on all fours slowly to a isolated pool of relatively clean water. He cupped a hand into the liquid and brought a small amount up to his lips, taking a sip before returning more rapidly to collect more and more to drink and cleanse his now wet, wavy brown hair. Within seconds though, the water puddle became as dry as the floor itself, and the young man stood up at last and wondered slowly through the debris.

It did not take long before he moved out into what appeared to have been an entrance atrium with a set of disfigured decorative doors. He took a few steps towards his exit before he actually took the time to focus on his environment and stopped at what he saw.

There was a massive, naturally appearing fountain standing opposite the doorways that appeared as if dried out on purpose with a single dead body lying face down, appearing beaten and mangled, with a scorch mark through the robes.

_Suddenly the room shifted. It no longer appeared a destroyed garden, but instead a lush paradise with great streams of water flowing gently down the fountain surface. With a look of mixed fright and worry, a small girl, no older than fifteen or sixteen stood with an purple sword in her hand, staring down the doorway as if it were a monster ready to reach out and swallow her at any moment._

_Then, there was a flash as the doors split apart and red bolts heated the air, vaporizing anything in their way. Several moved towards the girl, but she shakily deflected them with her sword, sending them off to dissolve even more matter against the walls._

_This assault on her proved short lived, as suddenly she raised up into the air, her arms clawing at her throat desperately, like someone had her by the throat. It was in that instant that a dark hooded figure entered and spoke with a unsympathetic intimidating voice._

"_Where is Fy-Tor-Ana?"_

"_I am...am one of the last...survivors" Her words came out hard, from the sound of it, it seemed that her lungs were almost to the brink of bursting. "she must alre...ady have...died."_

"_No. She escaped this way and is hiding. You will tell me where she is."_

_The sounds of her coughing became more pronounced. Whatever this man was doing to her, one thing was for sure, he wasn't playing._

"_Why...would I...I tell you?"_

_The cloaked man turned his hand slightly and the girl faced the rock face as it had appeared to him moments before, a smoldering ruin devoid of it's former splendor._

"_What do you see here, girl?"_

"_I see...death...the...the end of things."_

_The man moved closer. Now, he could finally get a slightly glimpse at his face, seeing such a young man, but with such a horribly wicked smile._

"_That's why. Because that's where she will be going when we find her, and trust me, we will, and that is where you're going as well."_

_Almost blindingly quickly, the man took out a sword similar to the girl's now dropped one, and ignited a bloody red beam of energy straight through her. _

_The girl let out a final gasp, her face frozen in terror and pain, as he just as quickly deactivated the blade and she fell quietly to the floor, sprawled as he saw her now._

The vision ended with a flash, but he found himself lying on the floor, clutching his stomach as if he had just been impaled as well. It took a few moments for the pain to subside, but when it did, he determined perhaps going out the most obvious way might not be the best given these circumstances.

_This is highly...disturbing...what the hell is going on? Who was that guy? I mean, he seems familiar somehow, but...I just can't remember. And that woman he spoke of, 'Ty-Tor-Ana', I know her! But yet...I don't...Ugh, what's going on here? _

He shook his head and closed his eyes for a brief moment to clear his mind before he reassured himself.

"_Worry about this later, Matthew, for now, just get out before they kill you too!"_

**xXx**

Newly anointed Emperor Palpatine sat before the console on his desk beneath the Senate rotunda and glanced the report automatically recorded by Lord Vader's fighter the moment he landed on Mustafar. A frown spread across his already hideously disfigured face as he read the details. Vader had made it to his destination, but he had yet to enter the Separatist facility.

"Something has him distracted" He whispered under his breath so that his vice chairman, Mas Amedda, could not hear him. "He has delayed too long, and for that he shall be punished severely upon his return."

Palpatine's thoughts quickly left the progress report though, as he felt a nearing presence, a Jedi! Then, within moments, he heard faint but steady wooden creaks becoming louder and louder until a tiny green alien stepped through the doorway.

Immediately, the two Red Guard began to move their weapons to attack, but were swiftly thrown back against the wall and came sliding down the wall. Palpatine put on his most sinister and delighted grin for his new 'guest'. The small creature however spoke first, as the Emperor turned in his chair.

"I hear a new apprentice, you have, Emperor...or, should I call you...Darth Sidious?"

"Master Yoda" Palpatine ushered out in a sarcastic voice that quickly turned to disgust "You survived."

"Surprised?"

"Your arrogance blinds you, Master Yoda. Now you will experience the full power of the dark side."

The Sith Lord raised both his hands and shot out a volley of lightning towards the small Jedi Master. A look of surprise momentarily crossed his face before he flew clear across the room and hit the wall, falling back down to the floor and rolling onto his stomach. Palpatine stood from his chair and began to glide towards his nemesis, commanding Amedda to leave them be.

"Eheheheheheheheh. I have waited a long time for this moment" he spoke a voice of pure evil and glee "my little...green...friend."

Palpatine let out another burst of ecstatic laughter as Yoda slowly regained himself. Palpatine lowered his hands as Yoda stood fully erect and stared him down.

"At last, the Jedi are no more."

"Not if anything to say about it, I have."

Yoda quickly threw up a three fingered hand and the Emperor flew across the room yelling in terror, thrown by the invisible waves of a force push, landing behind his desk and taking down his chair at the same time.

"At an end, your rule is. And not short enough, it was."

Palpatine used the chair he'd just took down to stand himself back up and speedily flipped through the air towards the exit. As he landed, he became shocked to see Yoda already standing in his path, blocking his only path of escape.

"If so powerful, you are" Yoda said, while wiping into his cloak and taking out his lightsaber before igniting the green blade "why leave?"

"You will not stop me. Darth Vader will become more powerful than either of us."

The Emperor didn't even have time to blink as he brought his own lightsaber down, concealed within his sleeve, and activated the crimson blade.

"Faith in your new apprentice, misplaced may be,"the master spoke while twirling his lightsaber into a fighting stance "as is your faith in the dark side of the force."

Sidious brought his arms slowly together above his head, his lightsaber held high, ready to attack, as Yoda launched into the air and the sabers clashed as Yoda used the friction to fly over the Emperor's head, land on the podium, and then bounce back to land in front of him again.

Palpatine parried a blow first, then Yoda had to repeal a side attack himself, and the Emperor smiled an ugly, toothy grin at his opponent. He finally built up the strength to throw the attack back at him and Sidious landed on the podium himself and accidentally activated the controls to raise the podium into the senate chambers. Yoda leapt onto the podium with him and the two began to rise into the massive chamber, sabers crisscrossing in countless potentially deadly blows.

Once they are nearly at the top, Palpatine finds his lightsaber locked beneath his opponent's and vies to force the Jedi to allow him to bring his slash up, but this only works to cause the two to continue parrying blows with one another until they finally stop moving at the top.

Determined to change the course of the duel, Sidious back flips onto one of the senatorial pods against the room's walls and let's out a joyful burst of laughter as he hurls two pods down at Yoda, who just as soon jumps onto a lower platform, directly in their path.

**xXx**

Anakin back flipped through the air, activating his lightsaber and preparing to bring it down upon his master, who had already prepared for the incoming blow. Anakin just barely landed on his feet in time to drill his lightsaber against his enemy's and be began to force him back with numerous swings and slashes, the two lightsabers waving through the air like a vertical fan-blade.

Obi-wan just barely managed to stop his lose of ground before he began to circle back around and continuing to block the violent set of blows Anakin attempted to deal him. He turn has back to the facility entrance just in time to receive a hard kick to the chest, landing smoothly on his feet.

He moved forward to attack Anakin, swinging his lightsaber from his side to meet his matching blue blade, when in an instant, pain shot through his body and he felt a sharp ripple of pain rising from his right thigh.

Within the compound, numerous battle droids had exited the building and began to fire, both on Anakin and on Obi-wan. Anakin focused his attention on the now incoming blasts of deadly energy as Obi-wan staggered, trying to get clear or defend himself from the crossfire.

Unfortunately, he couldn't move quickly enough. He felt another sharp sting located near his left shoulder-blade and the impact pushed him forward, falling over the edge of the landing platform towards the lava below.


	4. The Fallen Path

Just a Crazy-Man: My readers always remind me of such, thank you.

JC: You don't yet know how true that is.

Chapter Three:

**The Fallen Path**

A smooth and menacing sneer crossed Anakin's face as he slowly stepped closer and closer towards the edge where he watched his master fall.

_My new master told me that destroying the Jedi would prove my loyalty to him, and that my killing the Separatist council would show that my transformation would be complete...But I can't help but feel that killing my old master is so much more...fulfilling._

He allowed a shallow smirk to cross his face. He felt proud to have defeated his master, yet at the same time something in him felt sorrow at the thought of his death. Vader's thoughts crashed back into him however, and he simply shrugged it off, bringing his cloak up to conceal most of his face in a dark shroud, as he had around his heart.

Anakin was only one step away from the edge as he began to look down, when the sound of mechanical footsteps could be heard a few feet behind him. He turned his head back to see his golden droid, giving off a reddish-carbon tone from the Mustafarian background, do his typical penguinish walk towards Padme.

"Mistress Padme? Are you alright?" See-Threepio asked as he bent his torso far enough to tap her twice on the shoulder. "Oh my, I believe she's quite unconscious."

It only took another instant before his processors focused away from Padme to his internal scanners and recognized his other master to be standing only a few feet away. Threepio regained his posture swiftly.

"Master Anakin, it is such a pleasure to..."

"Take Padme on board the ship Threepio, I have business to finish."

Despite lacking the ability to outwardly express emotions, Threepio came across highly offended by being cutoff, despite the frequency of such occurrences.

"Oh, why yes, of course. I lack any advanced medical programming, but might I also suggest we get Mistress Padme to a physician immediately?"

Sadly for See-Threepio though, halfway through his speech, his master had already started walking away from him.

Instead of saying anything further, the droid opted to pick her up in his arms and carried her back into the ship. Anakin, meanwhile, strode rapidly back towards the compound. As he passed through the doors into the command chamber, the droids turned their heads to stare along with their sapient leaders, the masters and their pets both struck in amazement. Stopping just short of the central communications module.

Raising a hand, the Sith used the force to slowly close the blast doors to all the exits. Most of the group before him remained where they were saying nothing, to fearful and cowardly to approach.

However, San Hill, the Munn leader of the InterGalactic Banking Clan, rushed forward with an apprehensive smile, extending his arm to shake the Sith Lord's hand.

"Lord Vader, on behalf of the CIS leadership and the InterGalactic Banking Clan, I would like to be the first to..."

"Very well. You can be first." Vader sadistically remarked as he interrupted the Munn in half sentence.

He then proceeded to pull his cloak down so that his entire head was exposed. San Hill backed away slightly from him while the other leaders gasped and exchanged mixed looks with one-another. Only the battle droids remained mostly unaffected, only knowing that they were told Vader was an 'ally'.

"You're...Anakin Skywalker!" Hill stuttered as realization finally began to set amongst the confusion.

With a flash, he ignited his blade and stabbed the Munn three times, for each of his hearts. Simultaneously, Vader struck his blade out so it slashed the back-plate of Po Nudo's armor and force pushed Poggle the Lesser against one of the rooms bulkheads.

No longer questioning the situation, the battle droids followed their basic orders and began to fire upon Vader, who merely deflected the bolts away from him, several of which hit the other droids and one of which struck Passel Argente in the chest.

Poggle the Lesser and Wat Tambor both ran for the conference room while the Sith struck down the droids as they attempted to protect the council. Denaria Kee and Cat Miin sprinted for the only exit as well, only to have the doorway jammed by the two other Separatists just as the reached the doorway, crushing both of their bodies.

The majority of the droids had now been reduced to smoldering hulks and standing in their midst with Vader was Shu Mai. The Tiny leader of the Commerce Guild cowered before him, throwing up her hands in protest as he came closer.

"We were promised a reward...a handsome reward!"

The two became distracted as suddenly their was movement from where Po Nudo's body laid and he began to bring himself back up. As the Aqualish stirred, he laid sight on a dropped blaster and moved to defend himself. Vader allowed him to remain longer than he normally would, considering his survival moderately interesting.

"_I_ am your reward," Vader stated without turning back to face Shu "do you not find me handsome?"

With a swift move, he brought his lightsaber back around and swiped a clean cut through her neck while continuing to swing so that it cut the blaster Nudo had picked up in half before he could even fire it. He then continued the swing upward so as to cut off his left arm.

The leader let out a short scream before Vader swung back across and struck him across the head, forever silencing his cries.

At this point, the room laid ridden with the bodies of the dead and ruins of battle droids. All that was left, was the leaders hiding in the conference room.

The Sith took a few steps towards the door and he filled himself with a menacing thrill, a dark joy in slaughtering the Old Republic's enemies. For the first time, his eyes glowed an iconic and chilling yellow, distinctive of the most deeply embraced Sith.

Gathering together his power from deep within, he channeled all his anger and frustration through the force until he felt fully tapped into a seemingly endless pool. With the power stored inside of him, he hurled it out towards the blocked doorway and as if an invisible grenade went off, the heavily armored door ripped cleanly from it's position and flew several feet into the conference room, crossing the old Arch Duke of Genosis.

The last remaining Separatist leader within view now was Wat Tambor, Foreman for the Techno Union. The Skakoan leader backed up from Vader with each step that the Sith took towards him, but he quickly ran out of room as Vader approached with a quicker step.

Vader raised his hand just slightly and Tambor began to lift into the air, coughing for air which his suit should have been supplying to him perfectly.

"Where is the rest of the Separatist Council? Where is Nute Gunray?"

"When he...spott...ed Kenobi...the Neimodians they...they ran...the cowards..." Tambor barely managed to sputter out.

Vader could suddenly detect a rumbling outside that of the volcanoes surrounding them, emanating somewhere much closer to the surface than the lava building deep beneath the surface. He lost his concentration for a moment and the green skinned creature dropped back down to his feet. Now feeling like this was his chance, Tambor ran as fast as he could back towards the exit, but he severely underestimated the abilities of a Sith.

He made it almost to the doorway leading back into the command center when the Sith landed in front of him, lightsaber activated and ready to strike. Fear lanced through his body as he knew the end was close.

"Please, Ill give you anything. Anything you want!"

His pleas fell on deaf ears however, as Vader brought his sword back and stabbed forward, penetrating the pressure suit, leaving a burned whole through his middle from where his body decompressed as he fell to the floor.

Unconcerned with any of the carnage he'd caused, Vader continued his focus on completing the task he'd been assigned to, rushing back out of the conference room and used the force to raise the door to the landing bays; determined to kill the one amongst them all who was most responsible for attempting to kill his wife and who was likely the most powerful Separatist still alive.

**xXx**

Master Yoda flipped through the air, narrowly avoiding the platforms being thrown down at him and feeling slightly out of breath as he landed one pod away from the now destroyed one he had just been on. He did not even spare a moment though as he glared back up, activating his lightsaber again as the Emperor floated out on his platform while three others hovered around him.

Palpatine let out a deep and evil laugh as he motioned his hand downward and like troops following their commander's orders, they crashed back down towards the Jedi Master.

Yoda leaped from his position onto the platform falling towards him and then as it crashed, he jumped onto the next one the Emperor had thrown, and then onto another, higher up platform. Even as he tried to keep up, the Sith Lord levitated higher and used the force to disconnect yet more of the Senate pods from their positions and hurl them down towards the weakened master.

Deciding to challenge the Emperor's force powers rather than continue on head to head with a lightsaber, Yoda placed his saber back inside his cloak just as another platform fell towards him. With only a meter or two to spare, Yoda raised his hands into the air and the pod stopped and harmlessly floated above him.

The Emperor let out an even more chilling laugh, but Yoda showed no fear at all in the confrontation. Closing his eyes in concentration, he spun his hands, and simultaneously the pod began to spin around violently.

After enough momentum was built up, Yoda pushed out with the force and the pod went flying back towards it's caster. Palpatine stopped his banter and gave a look of both humor and bemusement, however, as the platform came closer he jumped and lost all signs of amusement.

Landing several levels below on one of the lower platforms, Palpatine glanced around wearing an expression of shock and as Yoda jumped up to where he was with lightsaber ignited, he showed what he had felt the entire fight, fear.

Acting more out of impulse than reason, he forced a brilliant stream of lightning out of his left hand that threw the lightsaber clear out of Yoda's hand and nearly threw the Jedi with it.

Both stood before one-another, both hands raised with a bright, blue stream flowing between them, neither one seeming to be able to move one more than the other. Suddenly, the power that had built up between them outburst like a concussion bomb and threw each away from the other, the Emperor clinging to the pod while Yoda fell to the floor, bumping the central pod on his way down.

At that moment, a Squad of red armor bearing ARC troopers entered the chamber via the auxiliary entrance on the bottom most level, blasters pointed directly at the Jedi Master.

The Emperor let out his most glorious and loathsome laugh yet.

"Good work, commander," He gasped as he used his platform to lower himself just above the squad "yesssss, well done, hehehehehe."

Yoda gave the Emperor a defiant look. "My allies, more in number than you realize, they are."

Palpatine jumped down from the pod and moved closer to the Jedi, coming only feet away from being between him and the clone troopers. With another hideous laugh, he gave the Jedi his most deplorable smile.

"But none can save you from me."


	5. Shaak Ti?

Thank you everyone for your support. I don't always have the time to write, so I sometimes feel the need to rush and I don't always get to follow my viewers. It means a good deal to me for all my steady readers, thank you again.

Mireilles3: The AU twist is an idea I had for a while and pursued at one time, but I hope this will be more successful.

Just a Crazy-Man: Thank you again.

IluvAUs: I hope you didn't have to stay up 'too' late to get it cousin.

Chapter Four:

**Shaak Ti?**

_Red and blue bolts flared around him, vaporizing or scarring anything they hit, and leaving anyone they hit lying sprawled across the littered floor. It didn't seem to take long for his comrades to fall and all the clones pointed their rifles at him._

_He raised a silver blade shining like the brightest light in the room and seemed to move beyond his control to deflect all bolts coming his direction. More and more clones moved to surround him, however, and finally a bolt struck his lightsaber directly, shattering it almost instantly._

_The fire didn't stop though, bolts rained down upon the young man like the storms of Kamino, yet none of those lasers touched his body. Each bolt seemed to get to a certain distance and then disappear into air as vapor._

_Then there was a rocket. The missile whooshed towards a plant standing but a foot away from the man, leaving a fiery stream in it's wake, and when it crashed, the concussion made everything go black..._

Visions crossed through Matthew's mind, visions of what had happened, where he was, visions so vivid he could have sworn it was still happening; yet it was blurry, appearing partially in sepia, and it only seemed to serve to make him more confused.

A set of loud footsteps wrenched him from what he knew now was more than just a resplendent imagination.

Feeling stirred from his position, Matthew glided slowly towards a fallen pillar, and climbed along the debris; moving towards a hole blown into the wall. As he reached the top, Matthew looked out from the crevice to see a pair of clone troopers reaching the end of the hallway.

"Sector Three reporting, all clear, proceeding back to First Quarter Communications Center." The trooper to the right informed the base commander, though the voice still filtered through his helmet.

The pair halted after having walked only a few steps further, but the one on the left put a armored hand up to his partner's shoulder.

"Do you think that Jedi is still here?"

"No. Kenobi and Yoda were barely here for a couple of hours," The other said to his fellow soldier with an ostensibly transparent tone "if any managed to survive the assault, they left before they arrived."

The one on the right simultaneously ushered the trooper onward out of sight and Matthew crawled out of his temporary asylum, still thinking about what they had just said.

_Those names are distinctively familiar...and that one was talking about a Jedi on the lose, could he have meant Fy-Tor-Ana that that man had spoke of in my vision? _

Carefully, he proceeded down the opposite direction towards a room filled with massive fallen pillars and the damaged remains of once grand figurines of the most prominent Jedi Masters. The lights shown slightly brighter in the atrium as light poured in a warm stream through blast holes sporadically carved in the ceiling.

As the warmth touched his face for the first time, he felt as if his entire body glowed brighter and all his slightly muscled features felt more at ease from the strain of whatever he'd been through. Embracing the energy that seemed to wrap him more powerfully than anything he'd felt since he awoke, Matthew allowed the voices to entire his mind in peace with a subtle calmness, and his eyes didn't even glaze as he felt a nurturing heat as hot as the sun rush through him.

Then, there was a person standing beside one of the largest pieces of debris amongst the shambles. Not so much a human, but definitely some species of woman who wished to make her presence known amongst the the bodies of the Jedi and their once immortal statues. Despite the fact that she stood just outside the shadows of a colossal fallen head, she called to him, their eyes locking as he felt perhaps this was where his visions were emanating from.

_Follow me and all your questions will be answered._

There was no hesitation. Matthew ran forward and joined in the shadows with her. The woman gave him a reassuring smile that appeared slightly comical as her face appeared painted like a clown.

The woman looked both ways out from behind the remains and then turned her attention back to him.

"You were lucky I found you when I did." She whispered beneath her breath as if full speech were poison "I only came back to our tracks were thrown off, I never expected to find anyone else still alive."

Matthew appeared flabbergasted by what she said, narrowing his eyes a bit.

"Found me? No, I woke up back that way, I never saw you."

"That is because you were unconscious. When I found you, you were badly wounded, but not quite dead, however before I could finish healing you, the troopers you just saw began their approach.

"Instead of trying to drag you somewhere so we could hide, I put you into a deeper trance so that if they checked you they would find you for dead. Unfortunately, a side effect of such a treatment typically leads to some temporary amnesia, but don't worry. Everything you once knew will come back to you with some time and nourishment."

"So who are you?"

"I am Jedi Master Shaak Ti. I was the Council Member in charge of the temple when what you see around you happened."

The Jedi just finished speaking when there was abruptly a heavy creaking sound and boisterous mechanical walking. Shaak Ti looked in the opposite direction from which Matthew had came.

"But now is not the time to discuss all of this, I can answer all of your questions once we escape this place," She said as she grabbed his wrist and pulled him along the other side of the figurine "come with me."

**xXx**

"Why aren't we leaving faster? The other shuttle is already lifting off!"

Viceroy Gunray sat shouting to Rune Haako as he plotted a course for the _Sheathipede_-class shuttle to exit the atmosphere. Despite his image of control inside the ship, it was impossible for him or, at that, any of the three to hide the nightmare they seemed force to sleep through.

"Viceroy!" Rute Gunray yelled from his seat opposite the Viceroy as Nute turned in the direction he pointed to look out the view port behind him.

Simultaneously, there was laser fire issuing from the nearby Trade Federation shuttle hovering nearby, only to be revealed a moment later as firing at Lord Vader.

Pure terror crossed Nute's eyes as he cowered in his seat, squirming like a nervous child as he knew his punishment was impending. The shuttle began to move as the leg supports beneath closed due to repulsor power up, but they were still close enough to see the other shuttle fire a pair of rockets at their foe that left most of the platform in a dark mist.

Everyone on board began to breath a sigh of relief as the shuttle raised higher, out of the mist and into the sky, but they were still in visual range of the facility when the clouds cleared and they were left with a vision that would haunt them for the rest of their lives, as the shuttle below lied in ruins and Vader stared up at them and held his hand raised with a smile; him telling them that he still planned for them to be next...

...And yet, Vader had no problem with waiting. He had no urge to get back to the Emperor or lead the Empire into it's promised future. All he was concerned with at the moment was his wife and the child she carried inside of her.

Temporarily leaving aside the anger that had swelled within him, Vader strided back to his wife's ship and, upon boarding, gave Padme a short look before heading for the pilot's seat. As he started the ship up for take off, Threepio began to strut towards him.

"Master Anakin, I am concerned about Mistress Padme's condition, but what about your ship and Artoo?"

"Do not concern yourself with that, Threepio, take care of Padme."

Knowing he couldn't push the matter any further, the droid wobbled away back to Padme's side, feeling a sadness that he might not see his counterpart again only for a brief moment as the ship began to lift off and leave Mustafar's surface for good.

Unknown to him for now though, the need not worry about Artoo's well being, as a cloaked figure approached the ship and prepared to lead them both off on their own journey.


	6. Council of Five

Chapter Five:

**Council of Five**

Something in Matthew told him there were great powers behind what him and the other practitioners in this temple practiced, but only a full recovery from his amnesia would have prepared him for how Shaak Ti had planned their escape.

The moment she grabbed his hand, it was like the world swirled around them and the both of them moved through the tunnel like trans-versing a wormhole. Everything outside of them moved at a crawl as they sprinted through like a shadow that never existed. However, even this approach couldn't qualm the fear that struck at his mind as he saw what they were running from.

At the doorway stood three machines, each standing between five and eight meters in height, but all appearing like a bipedal creature searching this building for new prey. With their way blocked by these instruments of war, Shaak Ti slowed them back down to normal behind a statue closest the door.

"Those experimental walkers are a fair amount of trouble in teams." She said as she allowed a small metallic object to fall into her hand. "I can't guarantee I can distract them all at once. Remain here."

Before he could argue or hesitate, she flipped over the rubble, landing gracefully directly in all the craft's lines of fire with a blue blade glowing and almost representing the hope Matthew felt watching the sight.

The AT-XT immediately left of her position reacted first, weapons already trained on her as she landed, and opened fire with a volley of red laser bolts.

Reacting instantaneously, Shaak Ti deflected the energy lobs away from her and sprinted forward, gaining significant ground on every shot until she was in the belly of the beast. There she gutted her enemy, molten mechanical parts leaking out as the machine crumpled to the floor in a shower of smoke.

The center craft as well as his partner were both already awakened to the situation with the latter firing in conjunction with his partner. Shaak Ti leaped into the air to avoid the intense fire and came down towards the right most craft, narrowly avoiding a fierce burst of fire projected from one of it's modified turrets. She landed on top of her opponents head and lifted her lightsaber to plunge into him too when his protege blocked her attack with a glowing blade of it's own, metallic and primitive, yet glowing with a plasma-tic incandescence that stopped her blade.

Shaak Ti was in shock long enough for her to be shaken off the walker's head, but she still managed to land on both feet even as she slid back a meter or two away. She couldn't stay in that position long enough hardly to stop though, as another wave of heat blew in her direction as the other walker moved forward, two vibroblades extended from it's 'arms' ready to skewer her. The blades crashed down against her sword as she threw herself on her side to miss the flames and used her strength in the force to move upward between them and cut horizontally through the left blade. The trooper inside the machine hesitated a moment at the lose of one of it's limbs and that was all the time that she needed. As he tried to compensate for the lose by using the craft's leg to step on her, she jumped back up to her feet and sliced a cut clean through the same leg, unbalancing the creation and sending it's heavy hulk crashing against it's counterpart, the end result being a pile of sparking circuitry and ruined hardware. This victory, however, was a futile attempt to keep them relatively unnoticed as the noise seemed to have attracted a platoon of soldiers. As almost thirty identical units marched from the opposite direction, Shaak Ti gazed with clamorous desperation over at Matthew.

"Quickly!" She shouted as she reached into her robes.

The troops stopped moving just as another silver object appeared in her hand and she tossed it at him. Matthew caught the object with one hand as she turned to stare down the platoon commander.

"Run!"

Matthew sprinted out of his cover for the doorway, beyond which he could see crumbled pillars of what appeared to be an entrance way out to the city covered landscape he saw glimmering in a setting sun. Not looking back for anything, he only heard as one of the crumbled pillars he saw became lifted in midair before rapidly accelerating towards the dense collection of troopers.

"Spread out men!" Their leader called, but for two troopers, it was an inescapable fate as they became crushed beneath the stone.

Without further orders, the men began opening fire and blue energy bolts lashed out deadly energy all around them as Shaak Ti used her advantage to catch up with Matthew. The two provided cover for themselves as Matthew felt somehow as if he could sense where the next bolt would strike and so were both able to deflect the bolts, but that was the only cover they had now that they made it into the open and there was no apparent escape except down the stairs; this area being covered with turrets, soldiers, and vehicles. They both halted as troops emerged from both directions and moved to surround them, but they knew capture was likely a low priority for them, and neither one was very willing to go down without a fight.

Then a flash went off in the assembly area at the bottom of the steps. Most of the troopers turned their attention to their former outpost just in time to see a man flying on a jet-pack, his appearance hidden behind the glare from the falling Coruscanti sun, but definitely echoing the spirit of a warrior. He rapidly fired volley upon volley of spewing red energy that held the sound distinct of dual heavy blasters illegal on most worlds. It was this energy that cut down almost half the troopers before they even got the chance to fire off a single shot.

Not willing to give up the diversion created for them, the two Jedi raised their lightsabers up in an offensive position and began to cut down the troopers nearest them who were utterly defenseless without melee weapons. Working together as they did, it only took moments for the entire area to be cleared with the troopers firing off less than ten shots.

As steam rose from the hit temple tiles and the dead trooper bodies, the Jedi's rescuer descended towards them and began to become more clear just as they both heard a barely audible metallic bounce coming from within the confines of the temple and then a burst of concussive energy unleashed itself in a blinding burst of ice blue radiance. Both Jedi fell, unable to shake off the effects of a stun grenade set off at the end of battle, but it took a moment for them to fall into unconsciousness.

Shaak Ti felt impending worry, as her last visual was of more troops charging from within the temple towards where she lay helpless on the ground. Matthew, however, had been thrown on his back, his vision slowly going into darkness as the flying man had almost reached them, his green and gray clothing coming into view and his face just out of sight as he fell back into a dream world once again.

**xXx**

Padme screamed in agony. Her ship had just exited hyperspace above Coruscant when the onset of labor kicked in and steady ripples of the most agonizing pain she had ever felt in her life coursed through her body. It was a feeling like her stomach was being wrenched out through her uterus and her body couldn't compensate for the mass, a testament to the puddle of liquids that had just escaped from between her thighs.

Threepio made every attempt he could to comfort her, but he began to feel his programming was not sufficient for pregnant creatures.

"Mistress Padme, might I deliver a pain reliever?"

"HE-AHHHHH!" Padme screamed out before she let out a few tired breaths. "What would you think Threepio? Do I not seem in pain?"

The golden droid began to rummage through the medical cabinet when Anakin spoke up from the pilot's seat.

"Don't give her anything, Threepio, it could harm her or the children. We'll have to wait until we get to the medical facility, there they can provide her with the care she needs."

"Well really!" The droid shouted as he stopped his search. "Someone could have told me that before I started looking for medicine. I'm a protocol droid, you know, not a professional doctor-bot!"

By that point though, Anakin was already tuned back out from Threepio's rant. His only focus was what had haunted his dreams, and now he was the most fearful that it would happen.

_I wont lose you Padme. Not here, not now...not after we've made it through so much. _

_I've lost everything that I loved and cared for, my mother, the Jedi, the Republic, Obi-wan...oh Obi-wan! All I have left is you and our children...not even Palpatine will matter anymore._

_You can't die Padme. I love you._

Anakin approached the planet with no more concerns on his mind except to make sure Padme was okay, and his ruthlessness began to bring out the beast of Vader. He sent the codes Palpatine had secretly passed to him to get through the planet's defense network, he guided the ship down below the clouds and major sky-lanes, and landed at the place he knew Padme would surely get the best care at, Palpatine's personal surgical reconstruction hospital.

The building spire pointed up into the sky with a menacing architectural feel that made Vader seem strangely more at home here as he could feel a closer tie with the dark side radiating from the building. He felt the draw grow more powerful as he carried his struggling wife down the boarding ramp and along one of the four landing pads towards the center, a single trooper approaching with his gun in both hands, but not yet aimed.

"Halt." The trooper stated, stopping and moving one of his hands out in front of himself. "This facility is strictly...gahhh!"

With the added strength of the dark side, Vader held Padme up with one hand while he used the other to stretch out with the force and begin choking the trooper.

"You will allow us inside and prepare your best medical droids to care for my wife!"

As the trooper continued to choke, a pair of red guards, Palpatine's personal guards, ran towards him from their position next to the entrance, both charging with symbolic force pikes held out for the attack.

With the guards approaching, Vader felt more anger gather in his system, and coincidentally, more power.

"I don't have time for this!" He yelled as he produced a lightsaber from his belt.

The first guard reached him and swung downwards, attempting to knock him out from above, and Vader swiped up to meet it and then back to the side which the guard now took to parry. The other guard attempted to come up behind Vader and jab him in his back with a pike, only for the Sith Lord to send a powerful kick backwards that threw the guard clear of the walkway, falling down into Coruscant's abyss. The remaining guard took this chance to make a swiping pass at his feet, but was again blocked by Vader's lightsaber, and using his power over the guard, he used it to bring the force pike up so that his torso was exposed and ended the fight with a firm stab to the chest.

As the guard fell to his knees, Vader prepared to pick his wife back up just in time to see a number of dual laser turrets appearing from previously hidden portals. Padme continued to let out screams of agony and Vader could not allow her to get caught in the crossfire or waste this extra time just to get inside.

Quickly picking her up in both his arm's, Vader rushed at the door's with a speed aided by the force, even as red laser fire gushed onto the platform, rocking it to the point he felt like he was in an earthquake. As he neared the entrance way, he simply thought of the doors opening for them and the obstacles moved aside, granting them access to the interior. He didn't slow his pace once he got inside, and numerous medical and maintenance droids swiveled their heads in confusion as he rushed by them, heading for the main surgical ward.

Passing through the corridors and up the stairs leading to the ward, he felt her losing more and more her grasp on life despite all his best efforts to make it their as quickly as possible. He wanted to calm her, but any loss of attention on getting where he was going, and he could easily end up completely lost in the expansive facility.

At last, he made it through the doorway of Surgical Reconstruction Unit One and left the attending nurse droid completely bemused to the situation. He didn't stop running until he found the first empty operating room and set Padme down on the operating table, completely to the surprise of the attendant 2-1B doctor droid and FX-5 assistant.

"Excuse me sir, but..." The doctor started to tell him, but he completely cut the droid off.

"My wife is pregnant and injured and I believe she may be in induced labor, I need you to call a midwife droid in here now!"

The droid was incapable of producing any physical emotions, but it was clear to guess that he was bewildered.

"I uh...yes sir, right away."

The doctor pressed a button on the side of the wall and explained the situation and within a few seconds a feminine droid floated into the room, ready to deliver the baby.

Padme's body squirmed as she was strapped to the bed for the delivery. The doctors worked on her, helping her with the birthing process, but as she neared child birth, she turned her attention up towards Anakin and instantly, Vader began to slip back into the shadows as she made a small smile.

"Oh Anakin...you're still here..."

"Don't worry Padme, I'll never leave your side again."

He rubbed her shoulder in reassurance as she again began to scream as the baby began to slip out. The midwife droid held out it's arms to catch the child and began chanting a reassuring phrase.

"Ouh-bah...Ouh-bah..."

Amongst the noises in the room, suddenly erupted the sound of a new born child. Padme still breathed heavily, but she let out another smile as the baby became cleansed and was held before her by the droid.

"It's a boy."

"Luke." Padme named him, as the baby was set down, and to Anakin's surprise, she began to scream again.

"Doctor, what's going on?" Anakin shouted to the 2-1B, who looked at the father as if he should have already known.

"Why sir, she is carrying twins."

**xXx**

Matthew awoke with a start, momentarily afraid that he was still on the courtyard where men ready to kill him in his helpless state approached. Realization set in though, as his eyes cleared and he saw Shaak Ti as well as another woman he didn't recognize; a short alien with pointed ears and a large slice mark over one eyes; another alien, but who had more of a blue-gray tint; and a handsome young man with almost black hair with clothes identical to the one who was rescuing them. Everyone seemed to be looking down on him, and the rescuer was the first to speak.

"Hey Jedi, your little pal over here's waking up."

The other woman in the room knelled down beside him.

"Shaak Ti told me that she could sense you were looking for me. I am Fy-Tor-Ana, Jedi Master."

"I saw you in a vision...or a dream...I don't know what it was, but this man." Matthew spoke now as he become fully revived. "He was hunting you ruthlessly."

The blue-gray alien shuttered slightly as if he was afraid of something.

"And you brought him here?" The alien pointed between Shaak Ti and the rescuer. "Palpatine and the Empire are going to come for us!"

The little alien activated a lightsaber pike he'd been holding and began to walk towards Matthew, but Shaak Ti came up between them.

"Kazdan, calm yourself! You've let recent events affect you too much, he is a Jedi just like us!"

Matthew was caught almost completely by surprise. He thought there was something special about himself, but he couldn't seem to remember anything about being a Jedi.

_Me? A Jedi? How can that be? I mean...it makes sense, but..._

"No! I will not allow this boy to destroy us! We are all that is left of the Council, perhaps the Jedi at all!" He muttered almost to himself, then he looked directly at Shaak Ti in derangement. "I will not allow you to harm the other masters!"

He leaped into air to jump over her, but before he could go anywhere, there was a thunderous sound and a flash of red light, and just like that he fell back down to the ground, struck dead by their rescuer. Shaak Ti turned immediately to him.

"Valin!"

"I told you, call me Hal." The man stated before she could continue.

"He was a Jedi Master 'Hal', just because he attacked didn't mean we needed you to intervene, this was an internal affair that we could have dealt with without bloodshed!"

Then, before either of them could say anything there was a ruffling sound and everyone turned to see a cloaked figure hovering over what Matthew now noticed was a woman, appearing to be in a deep sleep. All of the other Jedi seemed to come into some sort of stance and grasp their swords a bit closer. Shaak Ti was first to gain her breath.

"Intruder, identify yourself!"

"You don't need to be so apprehensive." The man said, and all of them looked stunned even before the man used the only hand that he seemed to have to bring down his cloak to reveal a brown skinned and bald male.

"Mace!" She said in a quite voice of utter shock. "I...I thought you had died!"

Mace smiled slightly, but quickly lost it as the events leading up to their meeting now crossed his mind.

"I'd thought we'd learned well that not everything is as it seems."

He turned his attention now to where Matthew lay on the floor, appearing as simply a witness.

"Now let's gather together and strip this damage you've done Shaak Ti. We must give him back what we have taken if the Council of Five is ever to succeed.


	7. The Plot

Chapter Six:

**The Plot**

_Taken_

The word repeated over and over in his brain, flowing over like a breached dam. Ever since he'd awaken, his situation seemed to continue changing, and he was growing tired of it. There was something they hadn't told him, and he had to know what it was now!

"You never said anything about _taken_." Matthew stated, still slightly dazed, but easily capable of detecting Shaak Ti. "What exactly does that mean?"

The Jedi all exchanged a look with one another, and even Valin shared in the secret ritual of staring contests. It didn't take an expert in para-linguistics to see that they clearly knew what was going on, but were still questioning how, or maybe if, he should know. Shaak Ti broke contact with the others first and turned focus to Matthew, her posture seeming as if she was nervous to move.

"I wasn't completely honest with you before." She confessed. "There's more to the story of how you survived the raid on the temple than just playing dead."

"And that would be?"

"Well..."

"There's not time for this now, Shaak Ti." Mace interrupted her, momentarily closing his eyes and halting her speech with the raise of a hand. "It's not safe to stay here with the clones looking for us."

"I understand that Mace, but I have a promise to fulfill. If the Empire is to find us, five minutes of explaining will not have made a difference next to simply doing our duty."

"Very well."

Mace took a step aside as Shaak Ti came closer to Matthew so that it came across as only him and her.

"When the temple first came under attack it was nothing short of utter chaos." She started, her eyes almost glassing over giving the impression whatever happened had impacted her more than he previously imagined.

"Most of the Jedi were spread out across thousands of worlds, fighting against the incessant swarms of mindless machines, lacking any care for collateral damage or any feelings of self preservation. With so many gone from our numbers, and most of our council members vacant at the time, we were completely unprepared for the attack."

Matthew noticed the other Jedi standing behind her seemed uneasy, though none of them would visually show it, it radiated in their spirits louder than the most prodigious expressions. He never broke his attention from her, however, as she continued on.

"Then, when we were at our weakest, they struck. Thousands of troopers of every breed and form and every instrument of war the Republic has ever manufactured, and some new tools we'd never seen before. And heading it all was one of our own, one who betrayed us at the time we needed him most. Together they marched through our halls and wrought destruction that will forever echo in the temple. Virtually no one survived...even the youngest of the children were slaughtered, even those still in the nurseries..."

He couldn't bare to hear more of it. The thought of people so cruel they would walk in and put a blaster to an infants head an then...

"What about me?" He finally asked, interrupting the rest of her speech.

"Right, I was just getting to that. As the attack progressed, a few of us managed to escape through various means, I myself, happening to aid another master out through the first quarter where there were more exits than could be guarded by any attacking force.

"We reached the Room of a Thousand Fountains as troopers were attacking it for the second time. It was our belief that if we could cover our tracks by killing all of those in that room, we could slip out through one of the shattered windows and no one would no one would know what became of us. The task itself was relatively easy, as the other fallen Jedi had already taken down most of them, but then that's when I spotted you.

"I still don't know how you did it. You were virtually in the middle of the explosion and yet you were unscratched. Everyone knew that you had potential, but that...even I will admit was beyond my comprehension. You were the only other one to survive, and we couldn't leave you, but more troops approached quicker than we knew we could get you out so we did the only thing we could..."

"Could you _please_ get to the point?" Matthew half begged as he was past being ready to know the answer.

That was when Fy-Tor-Ana spoke up for the first time since Shaak Ti had started explaining, her forehead scrunching slightly so that it made the tattoo there appearing slightly deformed.

"We jumped out the window and from a secure corner...we stripped you of the force."

The environment seemed to have gained an almost deafening quietness as Matthew switched his attention to her.

"...You what?"

"It was the only way at the time. Your weight would have slowed us down and we couldn't just leave you there as you were, not with troopers using those force scanners to find living Jedi. You would have lite up the scanner like a supernova."

"Obviously we didn't have enough time nor the concentration to finish." Shaak Ti said after issuing a cough, suggesting how she felt about being cut off on a matter such as this. "Your power and memories have been flooding to you like a cataclysmic rapid."

Mace stepped back out from where he stood, coming up so that he was beside Shaak Ti and he held both arms crossed as he clearly grew tired of their 'unnecessary' explanations.

"The point is, we can restore your abilities, but only with your full attention and cooperation. Many have been stripped of the their link with the force, but far fewer have been brought back from such a ritual."

Matthew hesitated for a moment, thinking of everything he had just taken in. He had been a very promising Jedi, perhaps one of the best students, and then something had turned their own men against them and now he was here powerless and at the mercy of this few surviving Jedi, only able to hope that they might could undo the damage they had willingly done to him. He understood that there was little time, but was this there more to the story that he'd yet to hear? How could he know, because now they were the only ones who did.

"Will I get my memories back fully too?"

"I'm not promising you anything yet. There is no way for me to tell the damage Masters Shaak Ti and Fy-Tor-Ana did in the first place, and fully regaining power and self awareness is virtually unheard of..."

He became silent for a moment, slowly raising both arms up so that they were extended straight out to where Matthew was, his sleeves sliding back to reveal one arm completely missing a hand.

"However, nothing is impossible with the force."

As if on a reflex, Matthew stood up straight, ready for some spectacular ritual that would blind him with light and fill him with warmth and suddenly he would have everything that he did before. What he got however was something short of theatricals. Matthew did feel something rushing through him, but instead of warmth and comfort he could feel pain and suffering. It seemed almost as if someone was sticking their hand deep into the pits of his stomach and wrenching the guts apart while screaming a thousand torments into his ears so loud he thought they'd bleed like a Bith attacked with a sonic detonator.

The pain didn't stop though, and neither did Mace. Even as Matthew felt his legs begin to turn to jelly, thinking he would collapse under his own weight, the brown skinned Jedi continued on, and when it reached the point he really was ready to collapse and scream in agony, it all stopped. And there at last, he felt a warm sensation start to touch him, and though he didn't yet quite understand how to tap into it, he felt like he was perceiving everything differently now and like he had his own unique ways to interact with it.

"The ceremony is complete." Mace informed him, dropping his arms and moving so that the sleeves could hide his injuries while Matthew regained himself. "Your powers and memories will come back in time, and only that time will tell just what kind of recovery you will make."

Shaak Ti and Ty-For-Ana both came closer and seemed to inspect Matthew like a mother caring for her wounded child.

"Do you feel alright, Matthew?" Shaak Ti inquired, curving her body to the side just slightly so she could see around his side and into his eyes as if that would tell her the truth.

"I think I made it through the worst of it." He muttered, but before any of them had more to say, Mace raised his voice so that everyone present could hear him, clearly not having intended to spare a moment to consider a recovery time.

"We need to set off on our missions immediately, every second that we waste, another life is lost to the Empire. Matthew..."

The young man was startled to be called on first, considering he felt the weakest of the group.

"You are to go to Alderaan system and meet with Senator Bail Organa. Valin has been instructed to be your courier there and will watch out for you on your journey while the rest of us fulfill our missions. However, you will maintain steady contact with me."

"Understood..."

Out of the corner of his eye, Matthew could see Valin noticeably tensing up, and within that same moment, the mans thoughts began to fill within his head, as if the man had had a block up, but now no longer cared what he thought.

_I don't like that term 'instructed' any more than I like being told I'm basically baby sitting a weakling Jedi while his mentors run off their own ways. They're lucky I still think this is all for a good cause..._

"Master Even Piell," Mace continued. "you will need to go to Kashyyyk, where we believe there to be a number of survivors from the Separatists and Order 66."

The short alien closed the one good eye he had and bowed his head slightly before turning and walking off into the shadows and out of sight.

"Master Shaak Ti, the Empire will likely be using the contested world of Felucia as an environmental training ground for troops and vehicles alike. You must go there and stop them any way you can."

Shaak Ti looked back up at Matthew one more time and then turned fully towards Master Windu, nodding in understanding before walking off herself.

"Master Ty-For-Ana, many survivors, instructed for or against it, will rush to Coruscant either for other survivors or simply to learn what happened. You must stay behind and rescue those you can, and ward away those you cant."

She gave no response, and reacting as if he hadn't expected one, he continued to speak his intentions.

"As we have one less member than what was originally thought, I will have to step in myself and personally look after my apprentice, who with proper concentration should come out of the coma within a few weeks under the proper care. Thus, we will first head to Ossus, the oldest remembered stronghold for the Jedi in the Auril Sector. If we make no progress, I will proceed to the Ruusan system. May the force be with you."

As if an invisible hand had touched her body, the limp body of Depa, Mace's apprentice floated up and alongside Mace as he walked past Valin, the two exchanging a very short glance before Mace disappeared out of sight. With just the three of them left, Ty-For-Ana looked at Matthew again.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, it was just a little rougher..."

"Come on, boy," Valin yelled, interrupting the two and waving a hand to indicate the time wasting. "let's get going."

Ty-For-Ana began to walk off, offering one last smile while Matthew remained glued to his place. The female Jedi Master was almost in the shadows herself when he called back out to her. She turned her head, her back still facing him, giving him only a modestly curious expression.

"Yes Matthew?"

"In the temple...before I met Shaak Ti...I had a vision when I saw a body. I saw a man choking the girl, and he said he was looking for you."

He paused waiting for some kind of reaction from her, waiting for her to say anything, but she didn't. The only expression she offered to him was a pair of momentarily widened eyes that immediately returned back, but with added curiosity, though lingering eerily close he could sense a small amount of fear building up before he continued.

"I just thought you should know. There was no question, he was different from everybody else."

There was not even an acknowledgment from her as he finished, for she seemed almost eager that he had stopped, for as soon as he finished, she completely turned around and vanished out of sight, leaving him alone here with Valin.

"You have moments like that often, boy?" He asked while Matthew arched an eyebrow slightly at the word _boy_ again.

_The way he's made it seem today, you would think I'm five. I hope he realizes he can't be more than a couple years older than I am!_

"Let's just go okay?"

The courier smirked just so it was barely noticeable.

"That was the whole point, let me show you to my ship."


	8. Blood Sword

Chapter Seven:

**Blood Sword**

It was like a switch had turned off in his head and all the anger rushing through him stopped and no longer had an outlet as he watched the second child coming out of his wife. This moment might have been something that Vader longed for, but that villainous creature would never have allowed himself to smile as brightly as Anakin did standing over the table as Padme spoke the name _Leia_.

The midwife droid cradled both babies individually in each arm and hovered back out of the room toward the nurseries, where the babies would begin receiving the care and nutrition they needed. With the process being completed and now being essentially alone, Anakin grabbed a hold of Padme's hand as she looked up and smiled at him for what felt like an eternity of bliss surrounding him and swallowing all of the bad in the universe.

Then, reality crashed back in with a sopping sound and a smash as he hit the floor.

As Anakin had remained focused on his wife, a trooper entered the room carefully, though fully expecting to be...well, expected. Turning immediately to the facility's attacker, who appeared to be a Jedi he pulled his finger down on the trigger, but under his helmet his face contorted in confusion as nothing happened. He crossed that hair string threshold again as he pulled back on the trigger and once again nothing happened. This time, the trooper could feel another presence to his side as a light shadow covered the side of his armor. The clone turned his head and nearly jumped back in shock as he saw none other than the Emperor himself scowling beside him, his mouth just slightly gaping to expose hideously rotting teeth formed into the most horrendous of expressions. Palpatine spread his mouth open further, letting almost silent words pour out into the air which the trooper half expected to leave a taint in the air that he would smell through his mask.

"I want him alive, trooper, set your blaster on stun...or do I need to capture him for you?"

The trooper looked back inside to see that much of the noise coming from within the room had silenced as the two babies were now in the arms of a hovering droid and the machine was taking them out through a different direction. He immediately looked back at the Sith though, and mustering up a shaky voice answered without question.

"Ye...yes sir, my...my lord!"

He could almost feel darkness and hate pouring over around him and it was enough to make his arms begin to shake. The trooper moved one of his hands to switch the setting on the side so that it was on stun instead of kill, but as he did he could almost sense that the Emperor was smiling a great big, rotted tooth filled smile at him.

_Do it!_

Despite all the lost concentration he had felt he pulled the trigger and a brilliant circular ray of blue light swept out into the room and before he had the chance to let another breath escape, the trooper felt a sharp, but short surge of pain through his stomach as he glanced down to see a blood colored sword protruding through his torso and his vision went black as the man he shot touched the floor.

**xXx**

When Anakin awoke he had to feel around the floor to make sure it hadn't all been a dream. He could still feel Padme's hand within his, her scent caressing his nostrils, however she was nowhere to be seen in the chamber.

After a moment, his senses began to refocus on his surroundings and he took in the maw that was the labyrinth he had been tossed in. The lights seemed to give off a very ineffective low level of radiation, making the room appear even vaster and covered in shadows while a series of steps led up to an upper platform that he could not yet see, and from the pain that rippled up his back, he wasn't so sure he felt like exploring either. Turning his head behind him as he stood up though, he saw that there was a central pit, leading down an immeasurable distance as at some point it just became pitch black and in each of the three other directions was a sealed blast door, making the steps up the only way he could go.

Anakin moved upwards, one step at a time, and once he was almost to the top, he saw a giant circular window, it's purposely darkened view of the Coruscant landscape, being largely blocked by a simple yet massive chair. Once he reached the top of the steps and continued to walk forward, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Only one person he knew had that affect now...

"Welcome, Lord Vader." The Emperor welcomed him, still out of view behind the chair, doing so knowing his apprentice would feel more apprehension. "Your assignment on Mustafar produced some most _interesting_ results."

The fear began to swirl back inside of him, making the Anakin inside of him crawl down into the back of his consciousness, leaving his body aside like a shell for Vader to step in.

"I don't see how." He said quite blankly. "The council was destroyed as well as my master, it was a complete suc..."

"Failure!"

Palpatine's voice raised just slightly, granting a touch of anger for a moment before calming back down to a more even tone as his seat gracefully turned to face his apprentice.

"You arrived late enough for members of the Trade Federation to escape and taking with them any chance of deactivating the droid armies of the Separatists. Viceroy Gunray will now have taken the place as Commander of Separatist Forces."

"But Master Obi-wan..."

"Was killed by circumstances beyond either yours or his control, it was a symbolic victory at best."

Silence again momentarily filled the room as Vader didn't know what to say to improve the situation. Within a few moments though, the Emperor would for him.

"However, there is the situation with your wife."

"Yes, master, the twins."

"How fortunate for you that she managed to survive" The Emperor exclaimed, bearing a rotten grin. "I told you through the dark side, her life would be spared from an untimely fate. However..."

The Emperor stood up now and began to wade slowly towards Vader in a fashion as if he was light as a feather, floating lazily over the durasteel floor.

"Your failure must be punished."

He became blinded nanoseconds before he felts the great wave of heat and pain course over his body as the once dark chamber exploded with sinister bolts cast directly out of Palpatine's palms. His eyes adjusted quickly to the new blue and white light, but even without it, the new pain coursing through his spine and across his body was as much of a sign as the Emperor's hard sown and concentrated face gritting as he raised the young man into the air above him and then silenced the bolts with a swing the power of a dozen men across the chamber's central gap and into the adjacent blast doors, leaving a deep , human shaped dent in the process.

Vader again found himself trying to shuffle to his feet, but before he could even place a hand to balance himself, the Emperor was back above him, a crimson blade extended towards his face. With a single swift strike, Palpatine swung the blade through his mechanical arm, coming within centimeters of dissecting new skin while the arm itself rolled across the floor before finally slipping down the chasm.

"Let this be a lesson to you, Lord Vader," Palpatine menacingly rebuked as Vader grasped his missing hand with the natural limp, letting out whimpers of pain. "never fail me again or next time you'll find yourself with two missing arms."

The Emperor deactivated the sword and, much to Vader's surprise, tossed it down towards him where he barely caught it in the last second. Upon grasping it, the blade almost immediately activated to shine a blood red color that he had grown up to know was a symbol of the Sith.

"Your new lightsaber, my apprentice. I suspect, in time, you will need to create your own Sith lightsaber, but for now bask in the power of your new weapon, powered by one of the crystals taken from my collection here."

Vader fumbled his new 'toy' around his hand, examining it closely for craftsmanship and durability. Once he felt satisfied with the results, he gave a few test swings to see how it felt in his grasp as he stood up.

_With this weapon, I will be unstoppable against my enemies. If not through sheer power, than by fear of it's sight alone._

"Thank you, my master."

He took a short, but very formal bow to show his appreciation and respect towards Palpatine, to which the Emperor made no response, continuing on with his briefing.

"Prove to me that you deserve it. While the Separatists reorganize their ranks, several rebellious groups have been working together since before the close of the Clone Wars with the Jedi to destroy us. Take your new flagship, the _Exactor_, and kill those rebels who would dare speak out against my regime."

"Where shall I start my hunt, master?"

There was a faint smile crossing Palpatine's face as his eyes lite up thinking about his first target.

"To Alderaan."


	9. Stardust

Just a Crazy-Man: Thank you.

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Chapter Eight:

**Stardust**

For the first time since he'd woken up, Matthew felt as if something was missing. It was a nagging sensation that had bubbled to the surface as the Jedi Masters went their separate ways, eating at his mind until he approached Valin and then he buried it back down, along with the anger that had stirred churned his stomach. The man gave a nod and just like that, they both moved off in that direction.

The first few minutes were carried in relative silence, only their feet and the planet's 'natural' noise pollution providing a background as they walked. Valin gave a short gave over at the Jedi only once, just before they reached the hanger, but when he got their, he stopped, and instinctively, Matthew did too, facing the man just as he turned to stare him in the face.

"You're different from the others..."

"You were there to hear what they had to say, of course you would say that."

"That's not what I meant." He said with a single shake of the head. "You seem more innocent than the others, like you have nothing to hide."

An skeptical scowl crossed Matthew's face.

"And you would know, wouldn't you? I mean after all the years we've known each other."

"Spare me the sarcasm please, I'm being serious. The other Jedi, I have nothing against them, hell, I wouldn't be here if I did, but they have their secrets which they seem determined to keep even from those who deserve to know unless they have no other choice.

However, you express exactly what's on your mind. Just standing there watching, I could tell that you were better than all the others there combined."

No expression escaped to Matthew's face, but he couldn't help but feel slightly flustered by what he said. Could it be that the Master's weren't as good as the public had believed after all? Their secrets no better than the lies of the Jedi? He didn't worry about it for now, as Valin broke the momentary silence.

"Anyway, before we get going, I think a formal introduction is in order...since our first meeting got cut short."

"But, we already have had our introductions."

The man let out a persuasive smile before he spoke again.

"No, I'm afraid Valin is just a codename I use, helps keep the the potential for bounty hunters and Palpatine's servants at bay. I actually prefer to go by Von Longo."

"Okay...Longo, so where's this ship of yours at?"

He nodded his head in the direction of a bulky, but for the most part well polished small freighter, perhaps thirty meters in length and about the same around. Standing beside a _Pelta_-class frigate, stripped in red.

"Oh wonderful," Matthew breathed out in an exasperated voice as he noticed the slender ship's profile casting a far larger shadow over the light freighter. "You just had to land it next to an Old Republic ship, didn't you?"

"You see that crimson coating she's got? That's a medical frigate, she's completely unarmed, and any clones on board are going to be a lot more focused on their own men than us."

They both continued to stroll towards the Muurian transport Longo called his own, passing directly in front of the landed Imperial ship. The main boarding ramp was still sealed shut, Matthew noticed, so he felt a bit more secure as they reached the belly of their ship. He would have cast more security aside though, had he known what was coming next.

"Hey!" A white and blue armor padded clone trooper called, pointing towards the two of them from the direction of the frigate and joined by three other clones, all of which were now moving his direction. "You there, halt!"

Von's eyes widened for a split second before, as if by instinct, he dove into his pocket and whipped out a comlink.

"Travis, lower the ramp!"

The hydraulics kicked in within seconds, but too late to avoid the first blasts of fire that smashed around them with deadly accuracy, one striking past where Von's hand had been only a moment before.

"Hey boy, can't you block that fire or something?"

Matthew was already pulling his lightsaber out as Von asked, but he wasn't so sure yet that he could really do anything effective with it yet. Thumbing the switch regardless, a silvery blade sprung out roughly to twenty-five centimeters in length, glowing brightly against his robes despite how bright Coruscant remained at night and seemed to hum a soothing song to him, a reassuring feeling washing over him just looking into the blade. Then, without knowing what made him respond, he tilted his lightsaber at a forty-five degree angle, like his body had taken over just in time to block a burst of fire that would have otherwise left his upper torso a necrotic ruin. Matthew was practically stunned by the act, looking dumbly at the saber and then back at the firing troops as another bolt came too close to him , and, once again, his blade moved horizontally and raised it up to neck level, blocking the blast and sending it flying right back into it's caster, throwing the trooper off his feet and smashing his back into one of the frigate's landing struts, collapsing a moment later.

There was a woot from behind him. Matthew turned his head partially for a moment to see the ramp completely lowered and Longo calling for him to run.

"See boy, I knew you had it in you! Now let's get out of here!"

"Could you _please_ stop calling me that?" Matthew shouted over the fireworks of bolts exploding around them.

Von paid him no mind though, as the ramp was already raising back up and he was on his way towards the pilot's station as Matthew ran into the safety of the ship. He could never remember being on a ship of this type before, but it didn't take long to get to the spacious cockpit positioned in the middle of the ship, two empty seats remaining to witness more troops pouring out from the belly of the frigate and firing bursts against the hull of the ship. By the time he'd gotten their though, the man who'd lowered the ramp was already in debate with Von Longo.

"I had to shut the engines down so we didn't look too suspicious." The brown skinned male Matthew assumed to be the co-pilot said, obviously with a temper in his voice. "There were too many clones who kept patrolling through the hangers and I only narrowly stopped a pair from coming to investigate before you got back."

Von Longo put his hand slightly into the air.

"Okay! Okay! Look, I'll just get the cannons online so we can provide some kind of defense until you can get us out of here."

"I already got the deflectors up, there's not much we have to worry about just yet, that small arms fire would barely leave a mark on the hull, let alone do anything to our shields..."

As if on cue, an AT-AP fumbled out from the underside of the frigate, it's topside weight giving it an awkward walk, but the lowering of a third leg once it got to the bottom of the platform meant only danger and destruction.

Suddenly the ship began to lift slowly off the ground, and Travis seemed to have a slightly triumphant expression, however Matthew saw the walker beginning to turn it's heaviest cannon in the direction of their ship. Grabbing Von by the shoulder, the man looked around as if something was wrong and then gathered an angry look as he noticed the walker now.

"No cannon's are going to be tearing into the hull of my ship today, bantha fodder!"

Forcing his aggression into the cannons, a double laser cannon fixed to the underside of what must have been the starboard cargo bay erupted in a triple burst of crimson bolts, each accurately striking the walker before it could fire a single shot and completely obliterating it, sending the troops around it flying several meters away. Now, already flying away from the carnage below, they soared towards the star clad sky that, despite it being nighttime, was only visible as they passed through the upper stratosphere. Von turned around in his seat, a look of pride stripped across his face.

"Nothing's a match for Von Longo when he's got the trusty Stardust on his side, and his even more trusted co-pilot, Travis Rand."

"And who is this?" Travis asked, turning himself and gaining an intrigued look as he spotted the Jedi.

"This is Matthew, he's our car...I mean passenger to Alderaan."

_You were about to say cargo, weren't you?_ Matthew thought to himself, but he didn't let it get to him as Travis smiled at him.

"Go make yourself comfortable, Matt, we should be out of here..."

A number of V-wing fighters glided by their ship, spewing out laser bolts in shots that for the most part, Von's flight plan had cleared them of, however two shots struck against the shields and made Matthew's balance feel a bit uneasy. Deciding not to risk it, he sat down in the seat directly behind Travis and strapped himself in as they came completely out of the atmosphere, and into the range of a massive starship not quite like anything he'd seen before. Travis's jaw hung lower for a second as he caught a glimpse of the completely gray underside of the triangular ship, seeming to recognize that the hanger entry port was more than large enough to ferry in four ships of this size.

"What the fuck is that? It looks like a Victory destroyer that gobbled at least one or two of it's brethren up!"

Von swung the ship hard about as green bolts, each appearing the size as one of the men in the cockpit, littered space around them, firing in such numbers it felt like the ship had to have had at least a hundred of the cannons.

"It must be one of the new types they launched just before the end of the Clone Wars." Von informed them as he maneuvered around another burst of turbolaser fire and an oncoming burst from another V-wing.

"I guess I should have known there'd be something waiting for us up here. There's no way we could get through the atmosphere quick enough to evade them activating the planetary shields and coming across the starfleet, I just never expected something this big though. Von, are we almost ready to make the jump?"

"Yeah, just give me one more...ahh!"

The whole ship rocked furiously, it was like being slung around by a kid treating this ship as it's toy. Von turned a shade redder in anger as the alarm rang from his console, but Matthew already guessed what was going on.

"They got us with a tractor beam didn't they?"

Von shaked his head as if this scenario was completely impossible and wasn't actually happening.

"No, no, no! First a fire fight and now this! Alright you Imperial scum, you want to make me look a fool? Well, shove this up your ass!"

He placed his hand on a small joystick on his console. A screen lite up with targeting information even as the destroyer stopped firing and they continued to move towards the maw beneath it. He allowed a smirk to cross his face as a triangular form filled the screen and then zoomed in on one flashing spot right at the the center of the hanger.

"Pay attention, b...Matthew, the Jedi don't teach you this."

He pressed down on the red button in the center and out of a launcher to the port of the cockpit, a single proton torpedo shot out and twisted upward towards the hanger bay. Von grabbed the throttle and prepared to get them clear when an explosion got everyone's attention. The torpedo was destroyed by a bolt from a point defense cannon. He was momentarily caught off guard, but something about being this close, seeing the inside of the hanger in detail now, motivated Von even further. He moved back over to the red firing button again and slammed it down, only this time, doing so as he moved down on the throttle. The resulting movement freed the ship, but caused the torpedo to get caught in the tractor beam. The ship streamed away from the ship as quickly as possible, but was still under it's belly when a violent explosion ripped through the hanger bay and scattered debris back out of the ship, other sections nearby rupturing outward as well.

"Nice one, Von." Travis said with no expression obvious upon his face. "But next time, you stick to the flying and leave the gunning to me, and maybe we wont get stuck in one of those things in the first place."

Regardless of what he thought of the comment, it must not have meant much, as Von's mouth form into a crater of a smile as he pulled another set of controls back and the stars stretched out into the familiar plane known as hyperspace.

**xXx**

Lord Vader stared out the view ports of the _Exactor's _bridge, watching the skirmish fail before his very eyes, fury coursing through him so fervidly that the officers in the crew pits to either squirmed in confusion.

_I specifically ordered that freighter captured in the tractor beam, and yet it still flies freely past my ship? Wait...what the..._

"Stop your fire at once!" He hailed as the gunners began again to lash out at the freighter in what almost appeared as a visual extension of his fury.

The green bolts stopped firing, but suddenly an explosion cut up through the ship and several officers fell flat as the ship rocked, Vader himself having to grasp onto the consoles lining the bottoms of the view screens to stop from falling. Just as he stood back up proper, he looked just in time to see the freighter disappear into hyperspace.

Behind him, the captain was getting back up to his feet as well, brushing the three red and three blue insignia tubes on his breast and readjusting his hat, before one of the gunnery officers whispered up to him from in the pit. Finally, the captain turned around to face Vader, who still seemed glued to the spot, gazing out in space to where the freighter had been with a hard, fixed pair of yellow eyes.

"Lord Vader, I've been informed that the hanger tractor beam has been destroyed and our main hanger receiving severe damage as well as numerous cargo bays..."

More anger lurched through Vader's system. The escape of his impending victims, the damage to his new ship, all crimes that must be answered for...immediately!

"...the gunners tried to lock on with the forward tractor beams, but unfortunat...bleeeeh!"

Before the officer could continue, he began to raise off the deck plating and grasped at his neck as if some giant invisible monster were lifting him up and choking him. The crew members all stopped what they were doing and looked on, some in fear, others in interest. Vader finally turned around to face the poor man.

"I have no interest in your failures, captain. You have already shown yourself lacking any valuable competence that could be of use to me," With that, there was a loud snap, and the officer fell to the floor, dead. "let's hope your successor can prove himself more useful."

He raised his two forefingers and a pair of clones came over and dragged the body away by the arms, undaunted by the power that had just been used to kill the man. The incompetent officer removed, Vader shifted his gaze to the commander who had been on the starboard side of the forward bridge, gesturing him to come forward.

"Yes, my lord?"

"Commander Griff, is our hyperspace generator still functional?"

The man had stern, hardened features that showed no hint of doubt that he could do the Sith Lord's bidding.

"It is, my lord, however while the main power generator remained unaffected, several of the secondary power cells have been damaged. I would not recommend we pursue."

"Your recommendation is noted, however, I am on a personal assignment set by the Emperor. We leave immediately, _Captain_ Griff."

"Very well, my lord, thank you."

The other officers in the pits looked up at him with jealous features beginning to scorn their faces, but it didn't matter to him. He would serve Vader well, and there was nothing they could do to change his position until Vader decided for it to change...which he planned to be far more competent than his previous commanding officer had been. Exchanging looks with a lieutenant who still had a look of scorn across his face, Amise Griff simply nodded his head and tightened his eyes, and like that, the younger officer looked back down at his console and made some adjustments. Before he would have had time to look back to notice it, the _Imperator_-class star destroyer was already slipping between the stars.


	10. Resurgence

Chapter Nine:

**Resurgence**

"They rounded up sixty-two alone during the declaration two days ago, they will be after us next!" Senator Nee Alavar stated to the four others who were seating within the same room that the Delegation of Two Thousand routinely used to hold their meetings while another three appeared in their seats simply by holographic projections.

"All we must do is quietly oppose this new regime, open rebellion is simply too risky." Bail Organa reassured the small group, despite appearing as a hologram. "I have my assurance from Senator Amidala..."

The only true alien amongst them, the Mon Calamari Meena Tills, held up a fin shaped hand so that he could speak.

"But where is the senator now? My planet's fellow senator, Tundra Dowmeia has already been taken into custody and I'm sure I will be next. This can mean only one thing, slavery for my people!"

The entire meeting began to fall apart as the senators all began to converse amongst themselves. Both Bail and Mon Mothma attempted to bring order to the group's chaos, but after they realized the holograms had fallen on deaf ears, they had to resort to conversing with Bel Iblis, the only other person appearing as a projection as well. The three of them were sure to maintain order amongst themselves, but they were worried about the other senators who already seemed to be leaning towards their own agendas, realizing that nothing could be done when Bana Breemu of Humbarine asked with her typical accent "Where is Giddean Danu of Kuat?"

"What are we to do, Bail?" Mon Mothma asked, maintaining her stance of hope despite the fact Bail knew she had to feel it dwindling within herself.

"There is nothing we can gain from this today. Senator Amidala advised us to support the Empire openly while we amass our forces, and that's what I intend to do."

"I don't like this either, but there's nothing I can do." Garm Bel Iblis explained. "The Empire sent an entire fleet into my home system yesterday to 'Consolidate all acquisitions of Corellian Engineering', I've been transmitting in secret ever since."

Bail and Mon Mothma shared a look of shock over the news before Bail turned back to Garm.

"The Empire is consolidating or shutting down all of the biggest star ship and weapons suppliers. We need your ships, Garm, or we have little hope of striking back more than just minor outer and mid rim targets."

"I'm sorry, both of you, but I've supplied you with all I can for the moment. The cruisers are all having their crews replaced by Imperials and I'm being watched closer every time a corvette or gunship goes missing. The entire CEC is beginning to consider disbanding and giving over to the Empire."

"There must be some way for us to grow or numbers..."

"We need patience, Bail," Mon Mothma said, her reassuring voice taking the edge slightly out of Bail. "as the Emperor shows his true intentions across the outer star systems, entire planets will take up for our cause..."

"And when they do the star fleet will enslave them, subjugate them, or wipe them out completely. Ugh, I'm sorry to seem a pessimist, but these are our most desperate hours."

"I believe the worst is by far yet to come."

"Time is all that will tell, I made contact with a few Jedi survivors, but so far, I have heard nothing back. I had to leave Coruscant in order to avoid attracting attention, but I'm not sure..."

Bail became quiet as he noticed the other senators had suddenly become quiet and the resonating sounds of blaster fire and bodies impacting the floor echoed clandestinely from what would be just down the hall. As much as they wished to know the fate of their remaining allies, the three senators knew what they had to do, and the holograms vanished back into the air as a squadron of clone troopers stormed into the once peaceful office.

Some of them screamed, others just silently bowed their heads in submission, but they all were now prisoners as a tall, imposing man, wearing dark, maroon robes like those of Palpatine strode in front of the troopers, a smirk spreading like a terrible scar upon his face.

"Senators, you are traitors to the Empire. Your meetings here have been revealed by one of your own, and now your fate lies with the Imperial Security Bureau."

There were whispers amongst them as they pondered who would betray them like this, the senators being held at gun point. The suspicions didn't last very long, however, as Giddean Danu stepped inside and around one of the troopers, an expression of resounding sorrow etched on his face.

**xXx**

Space swirled back into reality and the stars shrank back down to points littering the view of a beautiful orb that hovered like a perfectly cut blue diamond. The only other visual obstacle from orbit was a tiny fleet of assorted ships that flanked the _Resurgence_, one of only a few Nebulon-B frigates not belonging to the Empire.

Even as the freighter came closer to the fleet, a squadron of Z-95 Headhunters rushed out to escort them, their dual wings and quad engines almost seeming like what a star fighter was meant to be as they raced over the freighter and doubled back around. After a moment, a pair of the fighters took up position on either side of the cockpit right as a static filled voice came in over the com.

"Blue squadron to _Stardust_, please transmit clearance codes."

Matthew moved his hands across the console behind Travis's seat, activating the communications within the cockpit and simultaneously scrambling his voice.

"_Stardust _to Blue squadron, delivering clearance code Two, Alpha, Tango, One, Seven, Nine, Ceti."

There was a moment of silence as the code slipped out and the squadron leader checked the code for accuracy. After confirmation, the two fighters to their sides slipped back and the com station beeped again.

"Code checks out, _Stardust_, you are assigned to docking fixture four on _Resurgence_. Proceed on your current flight route."

The voice broke off after issuing the instructions, and as they neared the connection along the spur region of the frigate, Matthew got up from his seat and headed back towards the docking hatch, leaving the other two members of the cockpit to themselves.

"This should be a very _interesting_ mission." Travis mentioned, a small smile obvious on his face as he refereed to Matthew.

"Don't get sidetracked, Travis, we've been paid good for our services and once we are done here, we take him back to Coruscant and that's that."

Longo sat back a little further in his seat as his ship rumpled as it connected to the frigate. His co-pilot and him were both quiet for a moment longer before he decided to pursue the matter further.

"Besides, it's not good to get yourself to involved with the Jedi these days."

"Maybe, but considering the situation we've gotten ourselves into already and the state of the galaxy, how does it get much riskier than that?"

**xXx**

"Senator Organa," Matthew acknowledged the member of senate and leader of Alderaan as he reached the bridge, a older individual in officer's clothing standing next to him. "I am Jedi Knight Matthew Bastian."

The officer next to Organa turned his gaze to Bail, a glimmer of surprise managing to seep through despite his demeanor. Bail didn't notice, however, as a sign of relief crossed his face.

"Master Yoda must have sent you."

"Master...Yoda? No, Master Windu was the one."

Both of the men appeared to have a confused expression on their faces. It took Bail a moment to think about what had been said before he could speak again.

"Master Windu. He was supposedly killed in the process of Palpatine's attempted assassination."

"When he came back he was missing a hand, he must have been wounded, but survived the fight some how."

"That is good to hear, we hadn't heard from any Jedi except Master's Kenobi and Yoda."

"Well I can't attest for Jedi else where in the galaxy, but..."

_Dead bodies laid everywhere, clones and droids alike, all just another piece of the carnage around them as great fires burned into the sky from cities and forests that had once harbored a beautiful planet. Amongst the ruin, a cloaked figure wielding a crimson saber held his weapon high before plunging mercilessly into a trooper before him. Matthew could feel a sense of joy at the blood bath, but mostly just anger rippling from the dark Jedi. Then, the Jedi looked up into the air as there was an exploding sensation, like the burst of air released by a bomb bursting over ground, as another person joined him, touching the ground hard before looking up._

_She was a beautiful young woman, perhaps only a year or two younger than Matthew, her waves of black hair almost as striking as the piercing blue eyes that brought exquisite attention to her warm face. She smiled at the dark Jedi as she held up a double-ended lightsaber and activated a blue blade out of both ends. The branches of nearby trees shook momentarily as two other dark Jedi walked out, obviously watching for a while as she rushed forward. _

_The battle did not last very long, even though it seemed to happen almost in slow motion. The first dark Jedi didn't even have time to attack as she sliced through his side as she jumped into the air and kicked the second one in the face, knocking him down as his saber cut through nothing but air. When she landed, she brought her saber down to cut into the last one, but he brought his saber up to block her and his cloak fell down, exposing an ugly, cracked, yellow-eyed face. He moved to attack her at the side, but before he could, she force pushed him far away from her, slamming him against a rock face and then unleashed the force to send a wave of power hitting him, sending the rocks cascading away..._

When the vision subsided, Matthew awoke to find himself on the floor with the other officers staring at him while Bail and what he assumed to be the captain both talked among themselves and then noticed Matthew was amongst them again. Bail came closer and knelled down to Matthew's side.

"What did you see?"

"Another Jedi," Matthew stammered out just before regaining his voice fully as he stood back up. "a vast battle took place where ever she was, and there were more dark Jedi there. Something about her looked familiar though..."

"There were Jedi fighting across thousands of worlds, it could have been any one of them."

Bail looked back at the captain, who immediately turned away and walked back towards the two circular consoles in the front part of the bridge.

"What about Master Yoda? Have you heard anything about him? Have you had any visions?"

"Well, Master Fy-Tor-Ana was staying behind on Coruscant in case any other Jedi came back."

"That's where Master Yoda was when I lost contact with him. He was going to confront the Emperor in the senate, but I never heard from him, so I left Coruscant, as I was instructed in case communications were lost."

"All that has happened recently, it is a lot for me to take in..." Matthew turned away from him, his eyes cutting to the side. "I would like a room where I may contact Master Windu...and where I could meditate."

"Very well."

A pair of officers came from their station and moved to either side of Matthew. The three moved forward and the doors opened. As Matthew and the officers disappeared he turned to the captain, Adrian Verana, who's red hair seemed to have grayed a bit since the Jedi appeared.

"I don't like this, your highness..."

"Let us see how this plays out, before we cast our feelings on the matter, agreed?"

"Yes, your highness."

"This Jedi has a huge weight upon him, I have seen it once before on a Jedi."

Bail lowered his voice to a whisper, as the rest of what he had to say was more for the Jedi than for anyone else on board.

"May the force be with you, Knight Bastian, may it be with us all."


	11. There is Another

Thank you all my readers for giving my story your time, however, I would appreciate it if I could see more reviewers so I can know what you think and not just that you saw it. Thank you again!

Chapter Ten:

**There Is Another**

She tried to remember, remember anything at all that had happened, but every time she tried it just came back as a blank, an empty void in her mind that no matter what she did she couldn't fill. That was the only response her mind would give her for the events of the past few days. Everything that had happened to her, her children, her husband, and the Council...it was like they had been obliterated from her mind. The horror of it all wasn't nearly as terrifying as the sadness of not knowing what had happened to her own children in birth and why she appeared almost at second trimester sizes already.

Hours of crying and consultant from Threepio now rendered her in a much more stable state than she'd been in days, but relief felt like an unobtainable goal. Even now as she laid on the sofa, getting lost watching Coruscant's traffic from her patio, she remained unsure as to what to do.

"Mistress Padme..."

Padme stirred as the golden-clad droid shuffled outside with a perhaps more apprehensive tone synthesized to his voice than usual.

"Yes Threepio?"

"You have an urgent message from Senator Organa, may I open the transmission?"

She thought back to herself about the events of the past few days and how she considered Bail perhaps her closest senatorial friend these days. However, she also had the weight on her mind about how closely the Emperor might be watching her, he had manipulated more than she probably knew, there was no chance he would stop now.

_Bail is smarter than that, though, he would not be so foolish as to allow a slip up on something so serious he has to contact me._

"Put him through." She asked more than ordered, getting to her feet to be where the holo-feed could detect her, but Threepio immediately switched on the holographic feed and began backing back into the apartment, his place being taking by a translucent, blue hued senator.

"Milady, Senator Amidala, it is an immense relief to see you again."

"As it is for you Bail."

"I wasn't sure what had become of you. We did not see you there when the Empire assaulted the council..."

"What?" Padme's face contorted into a look of confusion and shock as her voice dropped to a shouting whisper.

"It is a sad story, I know, and you were fortunate not to have been there at the time. Mon Mothma, Garm, and myself managed to cut our transmissions before the troopers stormed the chamber, but the rest of the senators must have been captured and will no doubt not be seen again."

"I will contact Anakin to see if there's anything he can do."

_If he's even okay enough to answer my call._

"That will not be necessary. We are currently in the company of another Jedi who says that there seems to be other Master's who survived the assault on the temple. According to logs picked up on his escorting ship, at least one Master, Ty-For-Ana, is still on Coruscant."

"I...suppose I will try contacting her first then."

Bail nodded his head at her and seemed to take a glance down towards her stomach, a smile starting to reappear across his face.

"So how are the children?"

"The children..." She paused. She could remember being carried to a surgical table only have conscious and then an agonizing pain as she pushed, then everything became fuzzy again. "Perhaps we should discuss that later, I have pressing issues I must take care of."

His smile slowly faded, but Bail dismissed the subject as if nothing at all were wrong.

"Very well, we have matters on board that need to be dealt with as well. That reminds me, milady, would it be possible for you to contact Garm when you have a moment?"

"That was, er, already at the top of my agenda actually."

"Good, he seems to be having second thoughts on supplying the ships, I believe he thinks Danu ratted out the Council in the name of Kuat. Thus, right now, I have the funds and Mon Mothma the troops, but not enough ships to do anything important with them."

"I'll see what I can do senator, I wish you well on your mission."

"And you yours, milady, may the force be with you."

The transmission hummed out of life and disappeared in a blue-white fizz in the air. Padme prepared to sit back down when a voice from inside her apartment brought hairs raising and made her turn around on the spot, completely unprepared.

"Tsh, tsh, tsh, your friends constantly seem to be rolling around in a pile of mud. Unfortunately for them, they need not clean themselves for me to see right through their intentions." Said the figure as he strolled down the steps into light with the most arrogant class imaginable.

"Who are you?" Padme asked as his body and face finally came into view, revealing elaborate robes and an equally arrogant face to match, an unusually posh hat sitting quite stiff upon his head.

"I am the nightmare, the evil that races across your thoughts every night as you sleep, and in the daytime as you wonder just what has happened to your children." He paused to allow a narrow smirk contort his face. "But I suppose it was an actual _name_ you were looking for. In that case, you may refer to me as Grand Inquisitor Malorum. It is an honor to make your acquaintance again, as you seem to be so willing to provide the Empire all the information it needs to take out ever last obstacle or rebellion."

"I have no idea what you mean, I have never seen you before, and I'm quite glad to say so!"

Malorum looked slightly taken back, but then recovered his previous expression and let out a deep but quite, short chuckle.

"Milady, there is no need to be rude, however, you are incorrect. You have met me on one other occasion and that was during the time for which you can't account for."

Padme searched her thoughts, trying as desperately as she could to recover any evidence to what he said, but in the end, all she got was a blank.

"I must say, even without the right techniques applied, you still are quite willing to land your friends in more trouble than they can ever get out of." He said with a sneer so apparent it almost churned her stomach. "But I wouldn't worry about that, some information is just to good to let out and for now, I shall keep this to myself. After all, when I become Emperor, there's got to be something left to do... that is if Lord Vader doesn't kill them all first."

She began to look more sickened and confused as he spoke and Malorum finally seemed to have caught on to that. He paused for a moment and then cleared his throat.

"Oh, pardon my manners, I do believe you wished to know this part. Your husband," Padme clearly showed a look of shock at this utter revelation, that this man could know this part of her personal life. "is not what you think him to be."

"Anakin is a good man! Whatever you have done to him, I swear to you, he will return to you three-fold!"

He gave that same sinister chuckle again as Padme slowly slipped a hand behind her back, doing her best to secretly search for the hide-out blaster she knew to be somewhere in the depths of her pockets.

"Perhaps he was, but that part of him left before Darth Vader entered his soul..."

She finally laid her grip upon the handle, she started to lift it when she momentarily stopped at Malorum's next few words.

"...but it seems you wish to cast sin upon your soul as well. I haven't even finished and yet you already seek to shoot me where I stand, completely unarmed." He stopped as a lightsaber hilt dropped into his right hand and he smirked again, speaking again as he activated a blade that cast a red glow across the entire apartment in the darkness of night. "At least, I was."

Padme reacted immediately, pulling the blaster out to arms length, aiming, and pulling down all in the time of a few seconds, but none of it quick enough before Malorum could swing.

**xXx**

Matthew sat on the lush, warm rug on the floor of his quarters, meditating and clearing his thoughts. He has really wished they had provided him with a less elaborate room than the ambassadorial suite, but in the end he was grateful as the distraction helped challenge his ability to meditate. _Concentrate on that that provides you comfort and warmth_ Master Windu had told him once he contacted him from the suite. That was the little bit of comfort the Master did provide as he told him that Ossus laid in nothing but ruins and that he was making a stop on Murkhana before cutting his transmission. Concentration was immeasurably hard, however, as visions continued to cloud his mind and he still hadn't mastered how to control them.

He sat and finally began to set himself into calmness and serenity when his door, to his surprise, parted ways and Travis entered with a victorious smile.

"These things are even tougher than the old ones on those Republic tankers, I almost felt challenged."

Matthew got up on his feet and sat down on his bed, letting out an exasperated sigh.

"You know, I jammed the door and turned off the buzzer for a reason."

"Yeah, well, did you ever consider I busted in for a reason too?"

Matthew sat in silence for a second, pondering what he said. "No, not really, but if you do have a reason, now would be the time."

"I like that little bit of attitude you have, it's refreshing considering you're..."

"Now would be the time, _please_."

"Alright, alright. Listen, I was in the fresher on the ship when I overheard my pal talking about some of the stuff Mace told him."

Matthew suddenly become a lot more attentive and slid a little closer to the edge of the bed, waiting for Travis to continue.

"Seems you've got some family on Murkhana, and not only that, but there seems to be some Jedi there, but there's still some activated droids waging war against the Empire in some twisted three way battle."

_That vision I had, could that have been from Murkhana? If so then Mace is walking into a trap! Wait... but why didn't he tell me about this in the first place..._

"We need to go there as soon as possible! Whatever Bail needs can wait..."

Alarms began to wail across the ship as the ship rumpled like some giant hand had smacked aside it. In that moment, they both looked out the view port to see a mighty triangular ship like the one they'd encountered over Coruscant, hovering like a murdered in the distance. Then, several green and blue bolts lashed out almost faster than he could follow them and washed over the ship's shield's, making it uneasy for them to remain in their position and at last an officer's cry called from over the intercom, confirming the worst.

"All hands, to your battle stations, Imperial star destroyer off the port bow."


	12. Taming the Iron Beast

Chapter Eleven:

**Taming The Iron Beast**

Alarms wailed, sparks flew through the air from burst wires, and officers worked frantically at their stations as the great iron beast lingered menacingly out the view port. Bail stared it down closely, examining it as much he could without an actual technical readout, and he did not like what he saw, and by the time the captain came back over to him, he was already a noticeably lighter shade of white.

"She's armed to the teeth, your majesty. Six dual heavy turbolasers, two dual heavy ion cannons, two quad heavy turbolasers, three triple medium turbolasers, two turbolasers near the hanger, not to mention..."

"I get it captain," Bail interrupted him as another barrage of turbolaser fire slammed into the forward shields, issuing a flame-colored hue indicating the shields were severely weakened. "she's more than a match. Have they responded to any of our hails?"

"Not yet. I suspect they detected our shields raised and considered us a threat."

Bail's forehead wrinkled slightly before he spoke again.

"What threat does a single cruiser pose to such a battle ship?"

The captain opened his mouth to answer, but before any words flowed from his mouth, a bright, blue bolt ionized near the command deck and caused so much chaos to the computers everyone had to put their hands to their ears to try and shut out the sounds. Even as they protected their ears, several officers moved just in time for their consoles to spark and begin to emit nothing but static, if anything at all. One of the officers of a particular station delivered more than grim news.

"Captain, that last shot fried our command codes. Shields, weapons, sensors, engines, all offline."

Bail and Captain Verana exchanged solemn looks and Bail decided to speak up for him.

"What do we have?"

"Life support, that's about it, even the intercom is down. The hangar doors and hyperdrive still have adequate power and computer functioning, but someone would have to locally slice the system to get it functional."

"Get on damage control immediately." Verana ordered. "Comm officer, signal that destroyer again. Tell them we surrender."

Several other of the officers looked to him as a Zelton female seemed to be recovering herself at her station, removing small particles from her purple hair just to allow them to litter her red skin. As an acknowledgment to the order, she simply punched in the command on her console, but her response came back more unusual than he had expected as the laser fire ceased.

"Sir...the destroyer seems to already be hailing us."

"On screen."

The ship which had been a blight upon them since it had arrived in system finally disappeared and revealed the true menace who was controlling it all.

"Commander of Rebel vessel, this is the Imperial star destroyer _Imperator_." The captain of the Imperial vessel boosted with a commanding voice, his eyes burrowing through Verana as if to intimidate him. "You will surrender immediately and prepare to be boarded."

Verana stood his ground, his face molding into the hard expression of a well weathered commander... who was not in the least bit pleased.

"_Imperator_, I am Captain Verana. You have attacked the flagship of Alderaan's defense navy, and in more personal insult, not acknowledged his majesty, Viceroy Organa of Alderaan."

The Imperial captain's face scrunched up yet even further in fury at being scrutinized.

"You are in no place to insult my command, Rebel. You are harboring fugitives of Order Sixty-Six and carrying supplies for dissidents to the Empire."

"I have no idea what you're..."

"If you do not surrender immediately your vessel and it's crew will be destroyed!"

_Did he really just cut me off? _Verana's forehead wrinkled up and he could have sworn the other captain sneered at having seen he struck a nerve. _It's on now._

"Now listen to me." He said, his voice clearly cut with anger, however unbeknownst to the Imperial officer that it was a bid for time. "My crew has served with loyalty and honor to the Republic, Alderaan, and the House of Organa for decades and you have the 'nerve' to barge into our system and accuse us of treachery? If you do not..."

Everyone on the bridge, and even from on the view-screen the enemy commander and his crew seemed shocked, as the ship began to plow forward at maximum speed, directly towards the star destroyer.

**xXx**

Matthew and Travis burst through the room, Matthew running at a pace so fast Travis had to remind him he was there before he turned a corner.

"Hey!" He exerted, his breath a bit raspy and a bead of sweat building on his forehead.

Matthew payed no attention, however, thrusting all his attention into his legs as he raced towards the turbolifts. Thoughts of what was at stake raced through his mind as he nearly crashed into a crew member just exiting the lift immediately available. He rushed inside slamming down on a button just in time for Travis to slide into the lift before the doors slid closed. Travis flashed a slightly exasperated look, but once again it went ignored as the machine remained motionless. Matthew pressed the button again, only this time a message in a female's voice ushered from the intercom.

"Due to damage, decks one thru five are unavailable at this time."

Reacting more on impulse than rational thought, Matthew punched the buttons for the engine room and he was both pleased and relieved when the lift accelerated backwards.

"You're not like what I always thought the Jedi were supposed to be."

Suddenly Matthew came out of his semi daze and noticed Travis standing cross-armed against the side of the lift, an irritated yet curious look spread across his face.

"What do you mean?"

"Really? You have no idea?" He asked with an even more irritated tone.

Matthew shrugged as a simple confirmation of not understanding and Travis, rolling his eyes, continued.

"You have your little attitude, you're bossy, unpredictable, and I'm not really sure if you know what you're doing."

Matthew's eyes squinted, which he almost lost with his expression as the lift adjusted to move downwards towards the main engineering block.

"If you have a problem then why did you persist to follow me?"

A smile just barely slipped across his face as the doors opened. "When did I say I thought it was a _problem_?"

As the two exited the elevator, a technician ran up to them as if expecting someone to be arriving.

"Thank the stars you got here. We've lost all contact with the bridge and don't know what to do. I've had my men working to fix the system, but ion fire has fried most of our systems; some of it is going to take a day to fix."

"Are the engines working?" Matthew inquired, focusing more on what was at stake than an entire damage report.

"No, and even if they were we wouldn't know which way to direct them, the navigation system is shot all to hell. The hyperdrive on the other hand had special shielding so it could still hypothetically be activated and the thrusters work on a completely different system, but as I said, navigation is gone so we'd be jumping blind."

Matthew signaled for Travis to follow him over to a console and both passed the technician, leaving him confused for a moment before he snapped out of it and came over to the console they were standing over, making a shocked expression as Matthew began to engage the thrusters and begin powering the hyperdrive.

"What...what are you doing? Didn't you hear what I said? You'll destroy us all!"

Travis raised up a hand for Matthew as the Jedi was concentrating on his task. "

"Cool it man, he's a Jedi, he doesn't need any of this fancy equipment to get from point A to B."

It didn't take long before the ship began to rock again as bolts from the star destroyer's weapons lanced out against the ship attempting to stop her as Matthew brought her within a couple of meters of her bow before raising the ship's thrusters to bring her to port and out pointed towards the stars. The damage was really superficial at this point though, it only took him but a moment to visualize where he needed them to go and with a single click, the stars opened up for them and Murkhana was but a view port away.


	13. New Perspectives

Chapter Twelve:

**New Perspectives**

Vader was outraged. No, perhaps that was an understatement, especially to his bridge crew who would have rather been relieved of duty than have to watch Vader as he hashed it out with the _Imperator_'s captain. These officer's simply didn't understand, the Emperor had personally sent him here to track down the Jedi and it was already a failure! Even as he spoke, he mind was shouting louder than his voice ever could.

_Do they not know or care what is at stake? The Empire, the fleet, my very own wife all could be destroyed if these Jedi aren't dealt with...and there's no way for me to even be sure what plans the Emperor might have for any of those, especially my wife...if anything were ever to happen to her or my children..._

"Escaped? How is that possible?"

The captain for the first time lost his imposing posture and, to the surprise of his own crew, seemed to be deeply shaken by the harassment he was undergoing.

"Well my lord, once their shields were down we fired a barrage of ion fire that was supposed to have disabled the vessel, but it seemed that..."

"It didn't?"

The captain paused for a moment then continued, making sure it wasn't a trap.

"Cor...correct Lord Vader. Their navigational suite was ruined as well as main propulsion, but they activated their thrusters and apparently made a blind jump. My crew has collected a list of star systems along their last known trajectory."

Vader fumed in his mind. Once again his prey had evaded him and the Emperor had only just sent him on assignment! His whole body boiled up in a barely contained rage that he embraced, but contained merely for the fact that his work wasn't finished. The captain's surprise took on a new level when Vader finally allowed his cloak to expose his face to reveal even brighter and more imposing yellow eyes, seeming to cut as a sword through him that he feared would crack him apart as it appeared was starting to already happen to the former Jedi's face, the once vibrant and silky hair taking on an aged look. Previously, only the deepened, darker voice had made him unrecognizable, now his entire physical appearance was rendering him so.

"And did it ever cross your mind captain to get a tractor beam on them?"

"I...was not sure it would be effective against a ship that size, the ship is new and we have not had proper time to fully test all of our systems...I ordered our cannons to..."

"The _Imperator_-class is far more powerful than the _Venator_-class, and I can assure you both could capture a frigate of that size." Vader sighed as his fury raged and begged to burst from his system, giving him an intense migraine. "This is a complete waste of my time. The Emperor tasked me with finding these dissidents and that's what I intend to do."

"What are your standing orders, sir?"

"The wookie home world of Kashyyyk has become a contested battleground for the New Order. Break orbit immediately."

"My lord, what about Alderaan?"

Vader cocked his head slightly to the side as if he was portraying curiosity as to why he would even ask.

"There is nothing here for us to do, proceed to Kashyyyk immediately. Perhaps under the command of a more experienced and more knowledgeable commander, you can finally learn how to wield something more than an old Republic cruiser without being usurped by an enemy a quarter your size."

He ordered the comm officer to cut the transmission just as he added an undertone of malice into his voice towards the end. Vader turned around and prepared to go back to his quarters to meditate while his officers could decipher the cruiser's most likely destination, but was confronted by Captain Griff.

"Sir, the Emperor commands you make contact with him. I have his transmission awaiting in your quarters."

_Wonderful_, Vader thought to himself. _He wants a status report and all I have to tell him is that my quarry has escaped again. What a day it is._

"Very well, tell your men to double their efforts. The location of that ship must be discovered before they manage to evade us again!"

The captain acknowledged and bowed as Vader already began walking behind the bridge towards his private sanctum, the _Imperator_ vanishing in hyperspace from the view port just as his doors slide apart. His personal quarters were extremely bleak, something he couldn't say for the majority of high ranking commanders, but he had never taken a strong interest in flashy and ornate surroundings, and this was clearly reflected by the, in them self reflecting, black and gray walls and simple metallic furniture, all becoming seemingly more sinister in the eerie and selectively limited lighting. Towards the center of the room, near the antechamber leading to his sleeping chamber, was a circular crevasse with multiple projectors aligned in a circle around it from the ceiling. On cue that Vader had arrived, a mammoth sized hologram of Palpatine's hideous face transformed in the air as Vader dropped down to one knee.

"What is thy bidding, my master."

Palpatine's pause, however short, brought great terror even into the heart of his apprentice and the twisted but almost unrecognizable smirk that crossed his face bayed no better.

"The Jedi have escaped you again Lord Vader."

"Yes master, their ship was disabled, but it seems the most likely assumption that a Jedi helped them escape."

"Unfortunate, but the Jedi are devious and masters of deception, I knew they would escape before you could arrive."

"My crew is working tirelessly to locate their next possible destination."

"That will not be necessary Lord Vader, this rebels will be going where they are most needed which is where their most and strongest companions are. Murkhana."

_He already knows the location they were headed! How could even his most loyal spies possibly know that information practically before they've even arrived?_

The smirk grew a bit on Palpatine's face as he knew Vader was realizing the Emperor truly did have it all foreseen.

"It is all as I have foreseen. These pockets of Rebellion will attempt to use the lingering Neimodian terrorists and Jedi to strike revenge against the Empire."

"I will direct my forces to the Murkhana system immediately."

Palpatine's face and demeanor suddenly took on a more serious tone as he prepared to deliver the ultimatum of his transmission.

"You must be relentless Lord Vader. While my spies continue to track down and kill the remaining Jedi and several secret and massive projects proceed that will one day guarantee a stop to resistance against my order, what happens during the impending battle will be pivotal. Capture the Jedi and kill their master so that all hope against their rebellion will be crushed and their resistance can be destroyed swiftly!"

Vader expected the transmission to end and prepared to acknowledge his master, but before he did he noticed that the Emperor had paused again. This time there was more of an air of unease, something was wrong...very, very wrong.

"I have another piece of news for you Lord Vader, but it will not be easy for you to accept."

_What could it be?...Oh by the force, please don't let anything have happened to..._

"The doctor's were able to save the children, but it seems there were some..._complications_. Padme died in her sleep. I am sorry Lord Vader."

The transmission cut instantly, before the dark lord had the chance to ask any further questions or anything else, simply leaving him there to be knelled on the floor.

For a moment, it appeared he didn't know what to do, then it all crashed in upon him as he collapsed upon the floor, his appearance beginning to restore itself as his passion and emotions came to him in abundance as well as fresh tears while an ear splitting yell of agony actually burst any glass within the main chamber. Alarms weiled in the room from the incrediable pressure, but only for mere moments before the force crushed their very circuits and the cases fell to the floor. A pair of troopers were unfortunate enough to follow protocol and enter the room...only to be pushed from the room so hard that their armor crumbled as it hit the outside wall, bones and blood marked the wall and floor where they'd impacted.

It was in this moment that Anakin Skywalker fully left Vader's thoughts, everything about his past life completely irrelevant, even his kids for the moment. Another pair of marines wearing a distinctive armor opened the door to assist if anything was wrong, but before they even made it two feet in the room they both lifted off the floor, clasped their throats and went flying into the wall behind them, crushed instantly just as the troops before them. As Vader at last left the meditation center and transversed towards the bridge, no one was left in the corrider.

When Vader walked down the central bridge walkway, a pen could have been heard dropping across the bridge as every officer looked at the Sith Lord in fear of their lives as his appearance might have improved thanks to the power of the dark side, but his attitude was definitely far worse. Captain Griff was perhaps the only member of the bridge crew who wasn't completely scared out of his mind and when Vader stopped less than a foot away from him, he still wasn't sure if he should back away or stand his ground.

"...My lord?"

When Vader spoke, there was still the recognizable undertones of his previous voice, but what could be changed by body chemistry had become much, much darker.

"Proceed to Murkhana. We have Jedi to kill."

**xXx**

It was nighttime and the stars and surrounding foliage used to give her a sense of peace, but to Kara all that was but a mere memory of times gone by as explosions continued to rock the earth and fill the sky with temporary light as battle droids and clones continued to cast war while herself and the resistance who knew neither side had anything to gain hid in the forests, waiting for the day to continue their fight again.

Days had gone by since Order Sixty-Six had first come down, and since then it had been nothing short of an effective end for Kara's life. She'd seen numerous Jedi and old friends cut down in the line of battle, hundreds, perhaps thousands of innocent citizens killed as this new Empire ruthlessly ravaged the planet and it's cities to try and establish 'order'. That was four days ago now, going on five, and the stress of being stuck on this war torn planet without an immediate, if any, chance of rescue was beginning to consume her and she wondered if this sight would be her grave.

This didn't matter right now though. She was a Jedi and just like every other time a crisis would come up, she would deal with it and put all negative emotions aside. She had already meditated for the day and washed good enough that there wasn't anything noticeable in her black hair, which didn't really take much effort, but she was thankful she had been dying it for the sake of personal and presentable hygiene; now, she was ready to sleep and try to regain some of the much needed energy she knew the battle would inevitably consume from her tomorrow.

That was when it hit her.

It only lasted but a moment but the impact of the energy running through her would leave her anxious all through the night. There was a connection with her, a connection linked to the force, and it permiated from another Jedi who was headed to Murkhana!

She couldn't yet sense who it was nor what their intentions were, but whoever it was, she had to make sure she was ready whenever they arrived.


	14. Crossroads

Chapter Thirteen:

**Crossroads**

The frigate was far from being the biggest ship in the galaxy, but even the small cruiser had enough room in it's hanger for one or two squadrons. Most of the fighters as it turned out were held beneath the launch bay in a lower garage as the main bay was currently taken up by landing ships and an assault transport, and then of course there was still the _Stardust_ attached to the ship's spur.

Then again, all that really mattered at this point was the frigate and the star destroyer rapidly approaching that was more than four times her size.

As _Resurgence_ crossed back into real space, the destroyer strolled slowly over the upper atmosphere of Murkhana, the occasional burst of turbolasers reigning a green fire down from the skies, her very appearance enough to strike fear into those who looked up upon her. The problem for them, however, was that they no longer had the advantage.

Sirens across the hanger wailed as Matthew and Travis ran up the ramp into the _wayfarer_-class medium transport just seconds before it began to close. The versatile craft lifted off just as the pair made it onto the cockpit, where the whole scene came together in a breathtaking spectacle. With the frigate coming into firing range, the first few red bolts struck the armored side of the destroyer, finally alerting them to their presence.

At first, she turned slowly upwards, giving time for _Stardust_ to fly by the transport, but then the dagger shaped vessel picked up speed and turned straight up, pointing towards their heart like a knife ready to plunge, and the V-wings launching from her hanger the poison posed to enter through the wound. The two major ships fully facing each other at this point, the star destroyer finally turned her firepower towards the rebels...

...And both transports maneuvered out of the way just in time for several bursts of turbolaser fire to fly right past them and bounce against the frigate's shield's, causing the ship to noticeably veer on her course. Matthew turned back around and leaned towards Travis, speaking just loud enough for the two to hear.

"Can Longo handle himself out there without you?"

"This isn't exactly our first time in a big fire fight." He replied with a roll of his eyes. Almost like he'd been waiting on it, he pointed out towards the destroyer. "Look for yourself."

Matthew caught the small freighter coming back around the destroyer, several guns taking their attention off the _Resurgence _and firing towards the freighter, but none managed to hit. As the fighters launched from the ship and joined the fight, a handful of enemy fighters broke off and followed Longo.

The pursuit didn't last long. Longo's voice became the first one to break out over the com, and his message was very clear.

"You might wanna put your sunglasses on, this is gonna be big."

The _Stardust_ moved so it was headed straight for the destroyer's bridge at maximum speed. V-wings shot at her, but Von didn't alter course even when shots splashed against her shields. Then, as he got her less than a hundred meters from the bridge he pulled up as a pair of glowing proton torpedoes came out from the top of his ship, and when they collided...

Everyone in the cockpit had to shield their eyes as the first explosion hit the destroyer's bridge with secondary eruptions through out the command tower, then the second explosion plunged right into the belly of the beast where the primary reactor was, breaking the ship in two very large pieces that began to break apart as more explosions ripped the ship apart piece by piece. Travis and Matthew both broke into a smile as space returned to normal.

"I told you he could handle himself."

Matthew just smiled through the comment as the transport glided clear of confrontation, with most of the other v-wing fighters losing ground, towards the planet where he could feel the battle was just beginning.

Unbeknownst to them, however, things were just heating up in space as well.

**xXx**

From the bridge of _Resurgence_, Bail and Adrian smiled on the scene while the rest of the crew celebrated. With no damage to the ship, minimal fighters lost, and the complete destruction of a destroyer, it was virtually a perfect victory. So it seemed.

"Sir, I have more contacts entering from sector three – b."

Suddenly alerted by the voice of one of his officers, Adrian, closely followed by Bail, moved so that he could see clearly what the sensors had registered. This proved to be an unnecessary move though, as the enemy ships had already moved into close enough visual range to make out the very distinct shapes of _Lucrehulk_-class battleships.

And there was at least five of them.

**xXx**

Dawn was usually a beautiful sight upon Murkhana. The sun cast dancing lights against the coral like buildings as the waves crashed upon black sanded oceans, Argente tower hovering over the rest of the capital. It was a much different sight when hundreds of bodies laid in the streets, soldiers and innocents alike. Before the daily fighting resumed, it was a chilling tribute they laid in the silence, as if the blood shed already was not a high enough price to pay, as was the tower and surrounding buildings that laid in a bombed out ruin and the weaponry wreckage that littered and clogged the beaches.

It was from behind one of the more collapsed buildings that Kara stood watching with as much discretion as possible. To her, for the past three days, it had become common routine to observe the droids and the clones battle each other, as well as to make sure neither side realized she was still here. Her only other companions being Jedi Masters Roan Shryne and Bol Chatak, and the padawan Olee Starstone. Together, they had been looking for a way off the planet, pursued relentlessly by the clones who used to be their friends, and watched as the last few clones who rebelled got taken down by their own brothers. All hope for escape seemed to be at an end, that was until they all felt a new presence arrive over the planet, the one that Kara had awaited for...

That was when the transports descended through the clouds, the sun shining off the first beautiful sight on Murkhana since before the bloodshed began. Most of the fighting remaining within this particular area of the city consisted mostly of man to man and light vehicles, so it was no surprise when the troops and droids looked up at the ships simultaneously and then scattered back into the rubble for which they defended so vigorously while the ships landed in a small clearing.

Kara knew they were good, but she still stood by her spot and watched the men and women that poured out, not leaving until she saw who she had waited for. She had no idea it was Matthew. He climbed down the ramp just as the enemy began to shoot.

As the skirmish began, Kara leaped down in front of the rest of the rebels, only one end of her blue lightsaber able to activate, but more than enough to repel any bolts that might harm anyone. The enemy was too greatly defended, however, but with a single grenade over a pile of rubble from one of the commandos, suddenly an entire block came collapsing down onto them, drowning out any noise they might make in a roar that ended almost as quick as it began.

When everything had returned to silence, Kara turned around to find that Matthew was already in her face.

"Who are you?"

He could feel joy from inside of her, but it quickly settled and suddenly confusion began to ripple out upon her expression.

"How can you not know who I am?" She asked, deactivating her lightsaber and slipping it back into her holster.

"I could feel your presence here, but that didn't help make it any clearer as to who you are...I'm sorry, I just can't. My memories..."

_Remember..._

His eyes suddenly grew slightly wider as their eyes pierced one another's, Kara's and Matthew's matching blue eyes shining into each other, he saw two children, almost identical, running through a vast garden towards some far away palace. Then, the voice came again, the voice it seemed like that of the living force.

_Remember..._

He could see himself slashing a brilliant silver saber through the head of a spider droid as the young woman standing before him swirled like a whirlwind with her saber, cutting down droid after droid as they tried to approach.

"Matthew?" Kara called as she could clearly tell that something was wrong. Being as close as she already was, she reached out to touch him.

"No" His voice was barely a whisper, but the visions that continued to cross his gaze left him too distraught to do much of anything. She continued to lean in closer and finally, she was but a hair length away.

"No!" It came out louder, and then, she touched.

_Remember..._

There was an explosion, but it was not a physical one, but a metaphysical one. Matthew could see himself standing clear as anyone else was in front of him, and the other him smiled as he lifted his hand and opened it. Then, as it opened, a light so bright he couldn't even see himself anymore shone out, and then, it was over.

When the sight came back to him a moment later, Matthew was no longer the man he was before. He was fully himself again, and he could remember everything...and he smiled.

"Hello sister, it is so good to see you again."

Slowly, Kara regained her smile again as she embraced him, leaning up so that she didn't look so short against a figure almost a foot taller than her. Almost as soon as it began though, Matthew gently pushed her off, and once again she looked confused.

"What's wrong?" Was all she asked as Travis walked up and interrupted them before he could answer.

"Hey, we have to get going."

"You have no idea how right you are." Matthew said as he glanced up at the sky as if he was staring into the face of whatever had his attention. "He is here."

"Who?" Kara asked almost in a voice of desperation. "Who?" She wanted to shake Matthew as he continued to look upwards. "Who?"

Finally, after another few moments of silence, he looked back down and answered.

"The one who searches for us all."


	15. The Showdown

Chapter Fourteen:

**The Showdown**

Vader stepped down from his shuttle, the wind rustling his cloak like the hatred that boiled inside him, ready to be unleashed on the Jedi he had trapped. As he walked away towards the city, the troopers stood still and quiet as statues, their un-unique and un-moving position making them seem but witnesses to the battle to come. The only other movement came briskly by Commander Salvo who came from the city's direction.

"Lord Vader," Came the clone commander's words through his helmet. "we have rounded up the citizens into camps and defeated the droid forces, who have retreated into the mountains.

"Why have they not been shut down?" Vader asked, still moving so Salvo's only choice was to continue at the dark lord's pace.

"No such command was issued. The Separatists are taking commands from a new authority figure now."

_Just another problem to be dealt with. _Vader thought. _And one that couldn't be solved here by anything more than to completely overwhelm them. _This, however, was only a side though to him compared to his true purpose here.

"I trust your reinforcements will be more than sufficient to take out any ground opposition."

"Only if they don't have reinforcements as well from one of those battleships. To be honest my lord, we had our hopes set upon the Emperor's promise that the war was over."

Vader finally came to a stop where they were at one of the massive bridges leading into the city. Salvo stopped to, but only in time to feel himself lifted off the ground and feel the air escaping his lungs. When he looked down, he could see the cloaked figure of Vader holding out his hand.

"Did you hold these same hopes that your men wouldn't betray you for their Jedi Masters?"

"My lord..." Salvo grasped at his throat as he felt his esophagus begin to get crushed. "please..."

Vader dropped the commander, who landed on all fours, reverting back to grabbing his throat as he coughed and regained his breath.

"Commander Salvo, I have tolerated the last disappointment and will do so no further. I am here for one purpose, and one purpose only, to kill the Jedi that have escaped your grasp."

Vader paused as Salvo got back on his feet and then continued, pointing a gloved finger at him that made the commander back up another step.

"My ship will help the space forces keep the Separatists from causing any more trouble on the ground, but what you _will_ do is make sure that every single droid on this planet becomes another piece of scrap. If you are incapable of doing this, commander, believe me you can easily...and will be replaced."

Ignoring the commander's disgruntled confirmation, Vader continued his brisk pace into the city. He cared little for the war that Palpatine that had started, and even less for the worthless rock of a world he now walked across, all that he cared about was that he could feel the Jedi. And they were getting closer.

As he entered into the city proper, he found himself walking into what was the grand city plaza in front of the former Argente Tower. The force was telling him this was the place to find them, but there didn't appear to be anything out here, not even rubble to hide any wandering Jedi. Then, before he even knew it, about twenty rebel soldiers came up from different levels of the buildings surrounding the plaza, all pointing their guns directly at his head.

"You are not welcome here, Sith." Came a voice from the center of the plaza.

Vader looked back down in that spot, and where he could have sworn nothing had been a split second before, now stood two of the Jedi, Roan Shryne and Bol Chatak. From under his cloak, Vader let out a small laugh.

"Clever move, Jedi, but your men are useless before me."

An instant later, the ground began to shake violently. The buildings around them all became unstable as Vader used the force to unsettle the ground and without a single soldier taking a shot, the buildings all collapsed, taking every man and woman inside them with them.

Roan and Bol both found themselves on their stomachs, waiting for the force powered quake to end, only to find that as soon as it did Vader was right above them, coming down saber first. Roan rolled out of the way in time, but Bol was not as fortunate and with a single strike, Vader decapitated the Zabrak Jedi Master.

Watching from out of sight, Kara, Matthew, and Olee all gasped at how quickly this Sith Lord had reduced the trap down to one man. Now they understood why they agreed to try Kara's plan, but didn't allow any of them to participate. Matthew though grew restless and as he watched blue saber meet red saber and how with every swing Roan was pushed back, he just couldn't resist the urge. He started to rise up, but before he got more than a few inches off the ground, Kara put a hand on his shoulder.

"What do you think your doing?" She whispered to avoid detection encase Vader could hear over the clashing sabers.

"To help him."

"You remember what they said. We have to wait here for the Sith to be defeated, and if the Master is beaten..."

"You can't just expect me to sit here and watch as this dark lord just slices and dices Roan like he did Master Chatak."

At the mention of her fallen master's name, Olee began to let out a sniffle, but before either of the others noticed or could continue arguing with each other, she spoke.

"We should leave now, if we go out there, anything we do will be in revenge, and do more damage than good, and if we leave now we have a better chance of escaping. Should Master Shryne win this battle, he need not have to worry about escaping."

"You see" Kara continued persuading her brother. "the only good we do by going out there is to either get ourselves killed our lose our soul."

Matthew was almost convinced, but all of that broke in an instant as he saw Shryne go in for a critical strike and the Sith Lord ducked beneath the blade and with a force push, sent him flying into the rubble of one of the fallen buildings. The Sith leaped and came down on Shryne with the Jedi having barely enough time to bring his lightsaber into a position to block it. With every second he waited, Roan's own lightsaber came closer and closer to striking him in his own chest.

Unable to stop himself, Matthew defiantly ran out from behind their shelter, and Kara, getting lost in the excitement, followed him out as well. Roan's lightsaber was but centimeter's from his face, it so close all his features were now cast in a mixture of blue and red when Matthew cast out the built up energy and sent the Sith flying into a different buildings, picking himself up quickly but with a rapidness suggesting embarrassment.

"Well, what do we have here." The dark lord spoke in a sinister and cold voice.

"Turn back now, dark lord!" Kara yelled, standing just slightly further back than Matthew, who was ready to spring into action at any moment. "I blinded you once, I promise you, I can trick you again. Leave this place before we have to kill you!"

There was silence for a moment before the Sith, to her surprise began to laugh.

"That was a most impressive display of abilities, I must admit." He claimed after his laughter stopped. "But, you still have much to learn."

Cutting through the previous silence as easily as a butter knife, blue and white bolts lanced out from his fingertips and hit Kara straight in the chest, sending her flying onto her back a couple feet away. Matthew didn't even bother to attack, which for all he knew was what the Sith had intended for him, and went over to her side. He checked to see if she was okay, just to turn out she was unconscious, not a good sign, but far better than dead.

He started to get up, but by that time, the Sith Lord had gotten within only a couple of feet himself.

"You Jedi, are the one I came here seeking. I am Darth Vader, you will be coming with me."

"You bastard...you're lucky I don't kill you where you stand."

Vader laughed again, more audibly, but his amusement died quickly again.

"Normally, that sort of threat would get the enemy killed, but perhaps it is me who should be scared, for I can feel how powerful you are. The power in you is more than enough to overcome me and have me at your knees instead. However, such will not be the case today, for today you shall call me master."

"NO!"

Roan's voice screamed out loud enough Vader immediately turned his head and found the Jedi to be in full sprint coming towards him, his lightsaber swung out ready to slice through him. It was not much effort though to stop him, and before the master could even swing, he picked him up in the air, choked him, and sent him flying right back to the spot he'd been in. That moment was all that Matthew needed and he had his lightsaber reactivated and pushed against the red blade of Vader's.

Vader laughed more cruelly and intimidating than he had yet as he looked at Matthew, his eyes glowing brightly as they were but a foot apart from each other as Matthew broke his press downward and swung to the side, Vader quickly there to parry.

"Very good my apprentice, you act quickly. Your power will be quite useful when you help me ascend to the throne."

"I'll never betray my sister!"

Matthew jumped back and tossed his lightsaber towards Vader's face, but the Sith still was quick enough to block the move. By that time though, Matthew was already on his feet, calling his saber back into his hand and sending a wave of force energy out that Vader quickly had to react to, just barely blocking it with his lightsaber.

"Very good!" He seemed to yell as Matthew approached again and unsuccessfully tried a dual swing attack followed by a plunge. "Your maneuvers, similar to that of Shien, but your natural self craves more of Ataru."

"You know not what you speak!" Matthew shouted as he struck at Vader's defenses relentlessly.

"You know not how much you make yourself my servant. Each moment you grow more aggressive, more close to the dark side."

Matthew took a swung down towards his head, but Vader pushed the saber away with his own before speaking again.

"As a matter of fact, you have been the aggressor this entire time. Tell me, is it natural for you to be this way, or have circumstances just fucked you all up?"

"Errrghhh!" Matthew grunted with outrage. He could feel the dark side calling at him, imploring him to use it's power to quickly overwhelm Vader, but the longer he fought the madder he got at Vader and at himself, making him that much closer to calling upon it. Before he struck back at Vader this time, the Sith Lord came down on him with his lightsaber and the force behind the swing actually created a force shock wave that sent him back several feet.

"As you can see, my attacks can be just as or even more powerful. Now, watch as I demonstrate the power of my Dun Moch combined with Trispzest."

Matthew started forward, but before he could, Vader leaped into the air and threw his lightsaber down to the ground just in front of Matthew, and then a second later he himself came back down and spun on the hilt before kicking Matthew hard in the stomach, sending him flying again. As Matthew picked himself up, Vader began taunting him.

"You are so sloppy when power is really used against you. Don't you wish you would just listen to it and give into your anger now? Perhaps if you channeled that energy you could land a hit when you're the one on defense."

Matthew's eyes narrowed as he tried charging again, holding his lightsaber out in front of him. Vader just stood there, as if he was waiting to be impaled, until at the last moment, he jumped right over him and swung, cutting a slice through his robes and cutting the skin of Matthew's shoulder.

Vader landed two or three feet away as Matthew let out a yelp of pain, but had no time to recover, as Vader was already back at him again, taking all sorts of swings that Matthew had to react with all his energy in order to block.

"You are strong, Jedi, but only with your full potential could you hope to defeat me. You're nothing but a boy trying to fight a grown man's battle."

Matthew parried his attacks and swung back in turn, doing a fair job of keeping the tides equal.

"You're wrong, your pitiful attempts to turn me have failed. Admit it Vader, you're afraid of losing."

With that note, Matthew took his lightsaber under Vader's and pushed it away from the attack. He quickly moved his own sword back in for the attack, but before it got close enough, Vader jumped to safety across the other side of the plaza.

"Why keep running, my lord?" Matthew taunted Vader now. "Too vain to admit that you're just scared of losing against me?"

Once again, Vader let out a laugh, but it was slower and more controlled than it had been before.

"You claim it is me who is afraid, and yet here you are all alone and can't even touch me. Your friends obviously knew who to count upon winning this battle."

For the first time since they'd really started fighting, Matthew looked around to see that where Kara and Roan had been laying, they were both gone. As his mouth slowly dropped in open desperation and confusion, Vader's laugh grew more loud and menacing.

"They have abandoned you here, and yet you were too busy trying to save them to even notice that they'd left you to die. Hahahahaha! How pathetic...maybe instead of trying to save somebody else's skin, you should have worried about your own..."

"No...n-o..."

"Hahaha!" Vader laughed even harder as Matthew's legs began to fell numb under himself. How could they possibly leave me like this he wondered, but with all the anger that had already been let out, his anger was quickly changing that confusion and depression into suffering and hate.

"How could they...they would never..."

"Ah, but they have. You should have just let me cut the master down and you could have run away, but instead you came here and faced me...and for what? You've lost your entire order, and now your friends have abandoned you..."

"But they...no..."

"...you're all alone..."

"No..."

"...you...are...nothing..."

"NO!"

Finally, not knowing and not caring what had happened, Matthew determined if it was the only way he could beat him, he might as well do it the best way possible. He let the dark powers flow into him, infusing him with more strength and power than he thought possible.

He kept letting the energy flow into him until he went over a boiling point, Matthew's whole body seemed to radiate with an explosive force radiance. For the first time during the entire time, Vader no longer had a smile on his face as he felt the massive energy begin to go critical.

"Well Darth, I guess if it's the only way to beat you, I might as well go with you."

Saying no more, Matthew charged as did Vader, both letting out a yell until their blades were but a hair length away from each other. Then, the power exploded outwards in a furious burst of blue-white energy, engulfing everything it touched and turning the plaza and the surrounding block into nothing but dust.

And once again, there was silence.


	16. The Ultimate Weapon

Thank you, LadyNaberrieVader, this chapter I did with you in mind.

Chapter Fifteen:

**The Ultimate Weapon**

Death's harbinger had come for her, that was the one certain and inescapable fact Padme recognized as the lightsaber came down towards her heart. In all the times she'd been close to death, she'd expected all the events of her life to appear before her. This was the only time it actually happened. It was a false presumption, however, as before the blade got close, there was already a figure standing between her and Malorum, wielding a blue lightsaber and a very familiar appearance.

"Ferus Olin? What are you doing..."

The Jedi Knight held up a hand to quiet her that seemed to amplify the power radiating from his form, his slightly shaggy brown hair waving with the wind as he stood as the only guardian between the two. With a devilish smile, Inquisitor Malorum seemed to forget his quarry for just a moment as he took in the new and more important foe who faced him.

"Greetings Jedi. You'll have to excuse my surprise at seeing you here, you see, your kind are a little out of your league these days saving queens and fighting dark side adepts, that being with your temple in ruins and all."

Ferus swung his saber back quick to strike, but before he got the chance, Malorum kicked him in the stomach, sending him and Padme to the ground. The Inquisitor plunged his menacingly vibrant red saber down towards the Jedi's head, but he rolled out of the way just in time. It was a move that didn't buy Olin much time to react though, as Malorum already pulled the saber straight back and was ready to attack again.

"You make this too easy, Ferus. You'll die with the senator, and all you'll have bought her is a few more minutes to live."

He struck his lightsaber out in a sweeping motion, but this time Ferus held his lightsaber downward and blocked perfectly, then counter swinging over the Inquisitor's shoulder, who successfully parried as well. Malorum let out a deep laugh as he opened his arms wide with his saber extended away.

"Come on, give me your best shot, this should..."

PZZZT!

Malorum's mouth hung open and his arms remained wide as he looked down at the spot where the blaster bolt had struck him in the chest. He looked back slowly to where Padme laid to see her holding up her blaster, still smoking and pointed straight at him. That sight the last he would ever see, the Inquisitor fell to his knees and then collapsed on his front, dead. No longer having to worry about the engagement, Ferus ran over the senator's side.

"Padme, are you alright?"

"Why? Don't think I could have landed a better shot, do you?" Padme replied, her voice sounding even, but then she rounded out the conclusion with a good smile and laugh. Ferus shared the laugh for a moment too, but quickly returned to a serious note.

"Come on," Ferus offered his hand, which Padme graciously accepted. "I have to get you out of here."

"I appreciate the offer, but I am needed here. Besides, once my husband gets back..."

"Padme, there is so much you don't understand... Your husband isn't coming back."

"Don't be silly..." Padme started, but Ferus knew he had to be the one to explain it to her.

"Anakin is dead, it came out just today, an updated list of Jedi deaths. Anakin was near the top of the list."

"But...that can't be...Palpatine and him..."

"Palpatine cares for no Jedi anymore. If they don't turn to the dark side or are too dangerous, than he has them killed. As a matter of fact, he obviously wants you dead, your obituary was already posted today as well, that's why I came like I did. The Emperor wanted you for your Jedi children and now you must be disposed of."

Horror and utter depression set in upon Padme's face as she rapidly shook her head trying as hard as she could not to believe it, but there simply wasn't any choice. She had no idea what had been happening and he did, and it was the worst news she could have imagined.

"How could he does this? Palpatine was one of my strongest supporters!"

"He is a Sith Lord, Padme, relationships mean nothing to him."

"Then what shall we do now? Where shall we go? Even if I was safe here...right now, I couldn't imagine staying."

"We will be going to Naboo. I was visited by an old Jedi Master, one who came back as a spirit and spoke to me on the future, there we will meet our destiny. For now though, we have to infiltrate the Jedi Temple. A Jedi Master and leader of our underground movement here, Fy-Tor-Ana, has been captured and..."

Through tear struck eyes, Padme looked at Ferus to make sure he wasn't joking.

"You can't be serious. You just told me my husband is dead, my children stolen, and now you want me to help you save one of your friends?"

"This isn't just any random person, there's no one else coming back for us, I can't just abandon her because if I do, the Empire's going to kill us all, very quickly."

Padme had her response on the tip of her tongue, but the pair turned as mechanical movement took them out of the heat of their words.

"Mistress Padme, oh and honorable guest," Threepio acknowledged her and attempted to do so with Ferus. "I do believe a small contingent of clones have been dispatched for your immediate capture."

Ferus wasted no time at all.

"Looks like there's not much of a choice."

**xXx**

"Your majesty, we have completed our search of the apartment and other properties under her name. No body has been found, except for the one of High Inquisitor Malorum's."

Emperor Palpatine mustered a glimmering pose of regret, but even the small measure was simply a lie to hide the fact he already knew he, amongst many others, was planning his own empire. He considered the remainder of the clone lieutenant's words, but within two seconds of the commander finishing, the Emperor was prepared like he was ushering a speech.

"She along with anyone who aids her will not get far, I presume?"

It was easy to tell the clone was extremely nervous as the Emperor asked that question. He was one of the non-Fett, new breeds who the army was still trying to get properly acquainted, and then of course with the change in uniforms, while the rest of his clone counterparts were being referred to as 'stormtroopers', this one at a low officer level was dressed in all grey...and without a helmet. He, unlike Palpatine hesitated before speaking.

"Yes, my lord, my squad will search the city and kill her."

"All transportation services have been halted in this local sector until the situation is resolved. I will have an armor and a specialist division transferred to the area and assist you in your search, as well as any police forces already monitoring the area."

"Thank you, my lord, we will begin at once."

A more sinister, if possible, look crossed the Emperor's horribly wrinkled face.

"You will find her or I will make an example of you in front of the entire 221st legion."

_Not that he has anything to worry about. I know where her and her company are going, and they are already falling into a trap._

The officer noticeably gulped and couldn't even give a response except to simply nod his head. The Emperor simply disregarded the look and deactivated the holo-scanners, returning the sterile yet grotesquely dreary environment of his throne room within EmPal SuRecon. Before the room seemed completely back to calm though, a buzz came through the arm of his seat. Exerting an exasperated grunt from being disturbed and having to wait again to resume his rituals, Palpatine strolled back to his seat and pressed the button.

"What is it?"

"Your majesty, Lord Vader has made contact."

A very subtle smile broke the cracks of his snarled face.

"Excellent. Put his transmission through."

The call ended and immediately the view screen hanging within the chamber activated to show the cloaked and hidden view of young Vader. The young man stood with one leg crouched so as to show his respect and bowed his head before raising it back up, revealing strange yellow eyes for a once innocent boy.

"Have you made any progress on your mission Lord Vader?"

"Yes, my master, I bring you good news. Murkhana has been secured in the name of the Empire, and two Jedi no longer have their lives."

"Good work, my apprentice. What of the other Jedi on the planet?"

"During my battle they were able to escape to their transports. My ship attempted to capture them, but they were stopped by Federation battleships. We managed to destroy two, with assistance, but the others escaped as well as the Jedi, however, we have a positive I.D. on their trajectory. It seems their next likely stop is Kashyyyk."

"That was to be your next destination anyway. The wookies are ferocious beasts who are determined not to be tamed. Admiral Tarkin, however, is more determined that they can be used as cheap slave labor for a secret project. Kill the Jedi and assist Tarkin with the wookie uprising, and your mission will be completed for now."

"Thank you," Vader said while dipping his head once again. "my master."

"Leave immediately, Lord Vader, I shall be arriving personally at Kashyyyk to reward you if you have done well."


	17. Perilous Escape

Chapter Sixteen:

**Perilous Escape**

The upper levels of Coruscant was a region known for the rich and to be extremely law abiding. However, with the outbreak of the New Order, the streets had become filled with troops and sky's filled with Imperial ships scouring for any signs of disorder.

Among this order in a dystopian society, the pair that trans-versed through alleys and unseen corridors seemed to have the most to lose if they were caught. Still not resigned to Anakin's fate though, Padme had a hard time keeping up with Ferus's pace, despite their perilous journey.

"Hurry Padme," The man called out behind him. "every Imperial unit in this quadrant is going to be hunting us down. We don't want to make the pursuit any easier for them."

She stepped up her pace, but she still drug slightly behind Ferus, turning a corner just as the Jedi reached a maglev train station located in what she realized was Loijin Plaza, recognizing it primarily because of it's use as a droid staging area during the battle of Coruscant. Not used to using the trains, Padme looked confused as she pulled up beside Ferus.

"Why are we taking the trains?"

"Because it'll take too long to get to the rendezvous by foot, and we can't take a vehicle for risk of being stopped by authorities."

Padme continued to shoot him a strange look as she peered around the semi-crowded plaza, her apartment building standing tall with the other buildings hovering over them.

"And don't you think it's just as dangerous, if not more so, to be taking mass transit?"

Ferus took a quick glance back to a pair of troopers that stood conversing with one another by the corner of a security station before turning his head back around to address her.

"Doubt it. These goons don't really pay attention to what's going on here. You gotta take out a blaster or a lightsaber before they're really going to say something, there's just simply too many people to go through."

Padme still had her doubts in mind. Her train ride had been few and far between, the luxury of being a senator and ex-queen, but she still felt sure they would run across tight security somewhere. She kept feelings of uneasiness to herself, however, and it only took another minute for a train to come gliding into the station, cool steam drifting out occasionally as it rapidly came to a stop and it's repulsors slipped it down to where passengers could disembark and board. Wanting to avoid as much attention as possible, the duo eased through the crowd quickly, becoming two of the first new boarders.

The train gained and lost passengers for another few seconds before the doors started to chime to notify everyone it was ready to leave. A final passenger, a male rodian with glossy eyes moved on and grabbed onto the bar near them, holding on for when the train left. Padme noticed the train beginning to rise up and the noise of people talking and the repulsors reactivating blocked out anything else that could have gone on in the background.

_This might actually work. _Padme began to think to herself. _It's crowded on here so if there is any sort of search, it won't be hard for us to avoid detection...I hope._

In that instant, as the train reached an optimal meter above the 'track', it plunged off into a tube, accelerating rapidly at an imaginable speed. Padme gripped the bar tighter where she stood as she almost lost her balance with the train taking off. A few people around them starred from their seats or bars, but went back to their business quickly, obviously not used to those who hadn't ridden before. The rodian was the last to turn back his head, and when he did he chuckled just barely noticeably with the person he conversed with. To these others, this might be a typical trip, but for Padme, between the entering and exiting of tube sections to reveal rapidly changing cityscape to the movement of the train, she felt she might be sick. As if sensing her distress, an automated female voice came out over the intercom.

"**The next station is...NICANDRA PLAZA STATION...exit here for Nicandra Counterrevolutionary Signalmen's Memorial Building, home to Embassy Mall and Skysitter Restaurant. This is Nicandra Plaza Station."**

Ferus, who had been unmoving since they'd boarded, but noticed Padme's trouble when the trip first started, grabbed hold of her waist as they pulled near the station. She was a moment away from questioning him when the repulsors started pushing reverse to stop the train and she still almost fell to her feet as she realized the stopping was much harder than the start.

The train stopped only a second or two later and lowered back down for the next stop. Everything proceeded calmly as more passengers boarded and exited before the train took off again, more full this time.

Ferus pointed to a holographic transit map facing them, showing Padme how the map moved to cover a local area where the train was. The next station, as she could see, had three different colored lines glowing in different directions away from it.

"We're on the lavender line." He pointed to where the line intersected with the next station and then kept going straight along that path. "This train would take us directly to the heart of the Senate District, passing through the Legislative Borough and ending at Senate Plaza, with the Senate Building. That other line, the silver streak, that goes towards the palace district."

Padme noticed the lines he was referring to going off into completely separate directions from the third and final line going directly north across their current line.

"What about that one? She asked while pointing to the blue line.

A modest smile crossed Ferus's face.

"That would be the Temple line."

"**The next station is...HOSPITAL PLAZA STATION."** Spoke the female transport guide. **"...exit here for Imperial Senate Medcenter and connecting transit to the silver and blue transit lines."**

The train slowed back down, but this time Padme was prepared for the sudden stop and stood rigid as the platform appeared and the doors opened again. Padme and Ferus both made their way through the rush of people as the plaza was the most crowded they'd come across so far.

"**This is Hospital Plaza Station. Thank you for riding CARTs."**

Padme looked back at the train as it began to lift back up, not able to move very far due to the congestion, but was able to see the rodian looking back at her, grinning, but him and the train disappeared within moments as it rapidly accelerated out of the plaza.

The view from the station was far less impressive than their previous destination, it appeared like a giant underground honeycomb that was overflowing with the worker bees scrambling about trying to get to their next train or up one of the lifts before they were late. Overhead, she heard the unlively female voice come back on speakers.

"**Next train to Palace District arriving in...five minutes...next train to Temple Precinct arriving in...two minutes. Please report any suspicious activities to the nearest security station. All stations ****and trains are monitored by the Coruscant Security Force. Thank you for keeping CARTs safe and have a pleasant trip!"**

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at the obvious content of the messages as Ferus helped her shove through the crowd towards the North platform. While Padme still felt worried being in such a crowded atmosphere while trying to escape, and was even more so knowing they were being monitored, but she also was quick to put herself at ease as she saw everyone paid them little attention, most keeping to their own business or conversing with others, and of course she knew with the crowd also came an extreme difficulty to tell one person from another.

With a short time to wait for the train, Padme noticed a screen above the platform showing updates of arrivals and saw the reading turn down to seconds as someone shoved by her.

"Excuse me, ma'am." Came a male human's voice as he got to her other side.

Padme turned to the man for just a moment.

"You're fine." She responded and then gained another puzzled look just in time for him to turn back to facing forward and stopping in the crowd not too far away from them.

The man, she noticed, was the companion the rodian had been speaking with on the train. As if reading her very thoughts on the matter, Ferus leaned closer to her ear.

"I noticed him too. I wouldn't worry about it yet, he could just be going about his business, but we need to be careful. Anyone could be a spy."

It didn't take long by that point for the train to arrive, and wasting no time to get out of the station, Padme and Ferus boarded the train, which to their surprise was very lightly crowded for what seemed to be an overwhelmed system. Before either of them could even get a second thought, the train doors slammed shut and they were on their way, knowing they'd be getting off soon enough.

"There's only one more stop between here and the temple." Olin explained. "There is no specific stop for the temple so we'll have to get off at the stop that's adjacent to it known as Guardians Boulevard."

Ferus paused momentarily as the train passed out of the tube and into the openness of the Coruscanti skies. At first, Padme thought he was mesmerized by the serene view of distant towering skyscrapers hovering over the orange hue of the urban cityscape as the sun hovered in the evening sky. It was only when he nodded towards a rectangular spire that the train twisted above the glowing track and headed directly towards.

"The next stop will be the most likely to cause any difficulty though."

"**The next station is...CSF HEADQUARTERS STATION..."** The train's voice said, coming as signification as to why it was such a danger. **"exit here for lobby entrance to CSF Headquarters and..."**

A sudden beep came across the comm as the woman's voice was cut off and a much more gruff and masculine voice came overhead.

"Passengers, this is your conductor speaking. Due to a current quarantine, the next station will be our last stop on the blue line, exit on the right side. Thank you."

Padme froze on the spot, overcome with impending doom the closer they got to the building. As much as she put her confidence into any jedi, the train was already slowing down and within moments they would be in the middle of thousands of government police. Fate seemed to have it out for them sooner even than that, however, as she noticed the rodian's accomplice in the car ahead and saw a pair of troopers clad in some new form of armor making their way to their car, the man motioning in their direction.

The doors to the car slid open, allowing three stormtroopers to walk through, and directly approached the two fugitives. They did not have their blasters immediately trained on them, but they were in hand, ready to cut them down in a few moments notice.

"You there," The one in the middle spoke with a synthesized voice. "show some identification."

Ferus immediately jumped into action. In the second his saber dropped down to his hand, the blade snapped to life and then hissed through the air as he cut through the center trooper, sending the other two behind him falling down with him. Olin stood like a shield between Padme and the blaster fire as they reacted immediately, stopping halfway in the fall and got back on their feet, raising their blasters and firing around the car. Glass burst and steel melted while other passengers scrambled out of the car in terror. Though all their firing was completely wasted on the saber, neither stopped, not even the last trooper as his other partner got hit in the chest with one of his own bolts, blowing a hole through the armor that befouled the air with the burnt stench. The last trooper watched his associate fall, and deciding he had nothing to lose, charged forward. Ferus barely had to lift his hand and the trooper blew backwards like he was caught in a gale and plunged out a window, falling into the depths of the city.

By this point, they had been distracted long enough that the station had already materialized in front of them, and now the force of the repulsors changing direction to drop the train added to the fear in Padme's heart that this was where they died. It didn't help that there had to be checkpoints lined around the station and almost a hundred similar stormtroopers outside the train, blasters at ready and all types of military machines ready to assist any attack.

"Do you have a plan B?" She sarcastically muttered with a deep breath.

He wanted to say something else, but Ferus could only help but smile.

"Who said anything was wrong with plan A?"

Then before she knew it, he had already sprinted off into the car ahead of them. She tried her best to keep up, but no normal human could match the speed of a jedi and by the time she was at the end of the other car, the doors ready to open for the station, Ferus was already at the piloting station. Offering no resistance, the conductor put his hands up in the air and waited for the jedi to do as he wished.

"Override the system." Ferus spoke in a demanding, yet calm voice. "Continue to your next stop, let no one else on or off the train."

With a simple nod, the conductor pressed a few buttons and the repulsors gave a roar as they quickly came back to life and starting pushing the train forward before it had completely risen to the proper height. Some troops outside just looked confused, others shouted and then even a few sent red bolts flying after the train, but it was all a futile move, they were out of the station seconds later.

Padme leaned over the side of the door, eyes piercing Ferus's searching for answers, but despite everything, she knew the facts were very simple.

_To the Jedi Temple we go._


	18. Amongst the Shadows

Chapter Seventeen:

**Amongst the Shadows**

The temple grew ever larger as the maglev train soared without relent towards the next station. A chill ran up Padme's spin at the sight of the ruined structure. She remembered looking at the building when it was first under attack, smoke rising high enough that everyone in the Senate District could see it. Now everything was calm, craters and holes scoring the building, but it had been attack she had foolishly thought was justified.

_How could I have been so wrong?_

Ferus remained silent beside her. His expression revealed nothing, but she knew inside he must feel devastated just seeing the sight again. They both were rocked out of their communion though as a blast struck the back of the train. A ferocious wind blew through out the train, making Padme have to squint as she looked back at what had hit them, but when she saw the blast, fear was all that struck her heart.

A _Lambda_-class T-4a shuttle held position flying behind them, half a section of the back of the train blasted away from where it's lasers had burned through. The train shook again, less violently than before and Padme thought it had fired another blast at the train, but then realized that a line now connected the shuttle with the train. It only took another second for several stormtroopers to appear on the line, gliding down using their blasters as a counter weight. Beside her, Ferus strode forward and activated his lightsaber, running to the end cart to try and cut the line loose in time, but he was too late.

Ten troopers in all landed into the cart and began blasting anything that moved. Olin's blue blade diverted four shots away from him that caused carbon scoring against the walls or went out busted windows, but several more escaped past him towards the front. Padme ducked behind one of the seats and brought out her hold out blaster, sending weak shots back. One of the bolts hit a trooper in the arm, but it merely singed the armor, doing no damage underneath. She chucked the useless gun away and moved back under Ferus's cover to the cockpit, only then to discover the conductor was dead.

The troops continued their barrage against Ferus, and he could feel his defenses weakening, too many shots coming in from too many angles, he knew there was but one options. Gripping out with his power in the force, Ferus pushed his left hand out and every one of the troopers went flying out of the back, some screaming as they went, but all sure to fall to their death. He knew it was not the best way to deal with such weak opponents, but there was too many and he had no time...that defense would work for him at this time. Not waiting for the transport to send down more stormtroopers, he cut through the wiring and the shuttle swayed slightly, but righted itself quickly and then approached closer. Ferus expected it to send more blaster shots at him, but then more forms came around from behind the shuttle. Stormtroopers wearing jet packs. Five flying troopers zoomed in front of the shuttle, and with their precision blasters began hammering Ferus with their bolts, sending him back with the force of the blasts.

Padme ran back to him as she found the firing to be less consistent and shook his shoulder.

"Ferus, we're about to pass the temple and the conductor is dead, I can't stop the train!"

He took his eyes off the threat for a moment and saw the great temple coming up almost alongside the train and once again he knew there was only one way out of this.

"Hold on to me!" He yelled over the even more extreme wind towards to rear of the train.

Padme grabbed him by the waist and Ferus de-activated his lightsaber and in the same moment grabbed her and they leaped over the edge. Jumping towards the abyss below. She wanted to scream as she fell, but as they came closer to the top of the buildings below, the noise became stuck in her throat. The fall only lasted a couple of seconds however, and with a small burst of the force, they came to a very comfortable and calm landing. It was only after touching ground that she realized her eyes had been closed, but when she opened them, relief filled her body again as she saw the temple only a short distance away, the remaining spires and statues seeming to beam down at her like silent guardians. The two of them began sprinting towards the temple, hesitating for a second as the shuttle that had pursued them swerved around and landed somewhere in the temple, but continued on unhindered...ready for anything they might face. It would be tougher than either of them realized.

A platoon of roughly forty troops laid scattered around the entrance, there was at least three heavy repeating blasters manned around the statues and four guards who looked to be some sort of knock off of royal guards, wearing the same armor, but of a blue shade and a long spike, perhaps a new senate guard Ferus thought. It didn't take long for Ferus to come to the realization that his plan was a lot more dangerous than he thought, and he didn't know how he was going to get past all those soldiers at once. He had to think up something fast, two of the troopers were marching like in a drill towards their hiding spot.

Not expecting anything of the sort coming from Padme, he looked around bewildered when he heard a sharp whistle come from beside them. Smiling at him, he realized it had been Padme.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?" He asked, half in shock as the guards looked their way and came up at a brisk walk.

"Just trust me...okay?"

She pushed him aside so that the troopers wouldn't notice him and came out of the shadows, the troops slowing just short of her as they noticed the unarmed woman. They held their weapons in their hands, but didn't raise them, obviously not considering her much of a threat.

"You're in a restricted area." Came the voice of the trooper on the right, his voice heavily altered by the helmet. "Come with us immediately."

Padme seemed to look stricken and put up a most innocent looking expression. "You're not going to arrest me are you?"

"We're under orders." Spoke the other one, taking over for his partner. "You'll be taken in for interrogation."

Ferus thought tears were going to well up in Padme's eyes as she sniffled. "But...I don't...know anything! I swear! Please don't hurt me!"

Staring at one another, the guards shook their heads and then approached Padme on either side. They took out a pair of cuffs and Padme let out a low wail. Ferus was about to interfere when, just as one of the troopers went to put the cuffs around her wrists, she kicked upwards and her foot went straight up to his throat. With a muffled grunt, the stormtrooper slumped forward before collapsing on his back. His companion seemed like he wanted to react, but was too shocked to do anything. The pause did him little good as Padme kicked again, striking where his stomach was, and promptly sending him to the ground as well. Ferus came back out with a smile on his face, but it began to fade just as quickly as it appeared as he saw her grab the blaster from his hand and then two round objects, thermal detonators.

"What are you..." He began to ask, but Padme was quick to cut him off.

"You didn't think I was going to let you pull me in this deep just to let me get stuck here, did you?"

She push down on both detonators and the center pop up slightly, a red light blinking and a low beeping coming out from the grenades, she only had ten seconds before a very tiny nuclear explosion erupted from the grenades. She waited about five seconds then throw one towards the left of the entrance, and the other to the right. The detonators barely had time to land before two brilliant explosions combined into one and the entrance was engulfed in a short inferno.

When the blast cleared, the pair rain straight up the stairs and towards the doors. The entrance way had already been heavily damaged during the purge, but the detonators had only finished what had been started, taking huge chunks out of the giant statues and causing one to fall to the side, further crushing the half disintegrated bodies of several troopers. Fortunately for them, the blast had blown a seven foot high hole in the doorway, and there were no guards outside left to stop them.

Once inside, they saw that the doorway had crushed another two troopers who had been too close to the doorway when the explosion went off and had sent half the upper walkway that had been unstable to collapse, causing several other deaths. The only apparent opponent in the chamber seemed to be a sniper who shot a bolt aimed for Padme's head, but Ferus reflected the bolt back into the trooper, causing him to fly into the wall, a hole burned out through the other side of his armor. Ferus reached out with the force and try to feel any other opponents in the temple, and was happy to discover that except for a small base and a few isolated guarded paths, the temple was empty. He turned towards Padme and handed her a small object, a solemn look beginning to cross his face.

"Milady, I can not put you in any further danger. Use this com-link to call your shuttle."

"What about you?"

"I'll call you when we're on our way, but do not wait for us too long..." Ferus had to pause as he thought about every Imperial unit on the planet converging on him. "Get your shuttle to somewhere close and safe, but if you haven't heard from me in ten minutes, or if you're discovered, save yourself."

She had to hesitate about what she heard, but she knew it was the best thing to do, she wasn't much help here. Lifting her head higher and pulling her blaster up, she simply nodded her head. He thought she would turn and run off, but first she grabbed him and gave him a strong hug, catching him off his guard. Not trying to hold him up longer than necessary, she let go and ran off for the Jedi High Council Chambers, where she would await Threepio to come pick her up.

**xXx**

It had crushed Ferus's spirit more than the destruction of the entire order, more than anything that had ever happened in his entire life. When he found Ty-For-Ana she was lying in a pool of blood that covered half the room that had once been used as Master Yoda's quarters, a small figurine wedged between her breasts. Whoever had killed her had to still be somewhere nearby, the wound appearing fresh, and that was what made the temptation of revenge so much stronger.

The moment he'd seen her body, Ferus had wanted nothing more than to rip apart who or whatever had left her there, but he knew it would accomplish nothing but sending him down a dark path that would only lead to similar events. It was obviously a trap meant to attract any Jedi in association with her to the temple and he'd fallen right for it, now the only thing he could do was worry about getting back out without being killed. He picked up his com-link as he sprinted towards the spires, hoping he hadn't taken too long.

"Padme, do you read?"

There was a moment of static as the secret line created interference on purpose before a voice came in over the static.

"I'm still waiting on you. My shuttle is here, but I see fighters approaching the temple, we've only got a couple of minutes to get out of here."

_Damn! Gotta hurry!_

"Copy that. Meet me at the Council Chambers."

He picked up his pace, but he was already reaching the base of the spire now. Activating the turbolift, he felt himself lifting up to where he'd come up to where the High Council had once governed all of the Jedi.

When he got too the top, he found Padme's shuttle waiting for him outside, an easy access as part of the walls had been blown away. The ramp came down, and he ran towards it, halfway across the room when he felt a massive presence in the force from behind him...only moments before the figure spoke as he turned around, ready to fight.

"Good to see you, it is, young Olin." Spoke the tiny green form of Grand Master Yoda.

Ferus thought his jaw was going to drop to the floor. This didn't seem possible, he could have sworn Master Yoda was dead!

"Master...Yoda? Is that really you?"

There was a short pause as the alien master hardened his face slightly, as he typically had, then for some reason he smiled.

"Hehehehe, no longer recognize me, do you? Question who I am, you must, hmmm?"

Ferus very audibly sighed in relief as he felt the lose of one of his companions virtually sink away and something wonderful replace it.

"You are safe now master, come on let's go."

He started to turn, but Yoda laughed again, this time much more insidiously, as if he were teasing Olin.

"A mediocre Jedi, you always were...hehehe...deceived you I have."

Ferus opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, lightning shot out of the tiny figures fingers like a storm of immeasurably power. He was completely unprepared for the blast, and with his lightsaber de-activated, he had no way to block it...and he went flying into a wall, pain wrenching it's ugly fist through his spin before rippling through the rest of his body. He had no choice but to recover quickly, as within a moment, the master was leaping down on him with a crimson blade, a deep contrast to the resilient green that Olin was used to.

He managed to block the first attack, but Yoda twirled in the air, spinning his saber around and Ferus wasn't able to block a hit that slashed into his leg. Ferus screamed out in pain as Yoda turned again to try and strike from the side. He knew he couldn't fight and win against such a powerful master as Yoda, but he couldn't but wonder...why? Not bothering to waste his time with it, he knew his life was more important now than a foolish question and he jumped onto the ramp, Padme and C-3PO both seeing the conflict and backing off as soon as he landed on the ramp.

Olin thought he was safe as the ramp started to go up, but Yoda wasn't willing to let him go so easily. Throwing his lightsaber up and casting it out, the saber sliced across Ferus's back as the ramp closed, cutting back through the closed ramp and into Yoda's hands as the ship accelerated. Padme came down to the ramp and yelled out in shock and despair as she saw him fall on his front. She crouched next to him and examined his back, a clean and cauterized cut. The Jedi was still breathing, but he wouldn't last long in this state.

"Threepio!" She called to the droid, who quickly left the cockpit after setting the autopilot.

"Oh dear! How dreadful! Is he dead?" The golden-clad droid asked in a melodramatic voice.

"No, but you must get him into stasis immediately, we don't have anyway to treat him on board."

"Of course...what about that?" He asked, pointing to the tear through the door that prevented them from going much higher than they already were without depressurizing.

"I'll seal it with a mesh. We should be fine until we get to Naboo."

"Naboo?" Threepio exclaimed as he held Ferus in his arms, ready to carry him to the shuttle's one stasis pod.

"Yes Threepio, we are going home."

**I hope everyone is liking the story, I haven't been getting quite as many reviews as I had hoped for...anyway, I hope you enjoyed and that my work on this chapter was at least decent. Stay tuned for updates.**


	19. Dark Kingdom, Part I

Chapter Eighteen:

**Dark Kingdom, Part I**

"NO!"

Kara woke up with a start, sweat dripping from her chin as she laid in an up right position. It didn't take her more than a few seconds to realize she wasn't on Murkhana anymore. She was in space in what appeared to be a capital ship's medical center, but yet there was no staff around, no droids tending to the wounded. Then, going on her feelings, she looked to the bacta tanks on the left side. Inside one standing distinctly in the middle was the only other person in the room, some person floating in the bubbly liquid who she couldn't quite make out. Not wasting time to address much else, she detached some medical devices that had been hooked to her body and headed towards the tank, doing her best to make out the figure in the brightly lite white room. As she passed the last of the beds and was within a few feet of the tanks she realized the figure was turned completely around in the tank, making him unrecognizable to her.

Taking a look back behind her to make sure she was still alone, she moved closer still to this particular tank with overwhelming curiosity. Not questioning if it was wise or not she finally completely closed the distance and touched the tank the un-disclosed person floated in. As if activated by her touch, the body turned about at an accelerated but un-alarming rate, something less than what could be said for who resided in the tank. Attached to an air mask was her brother. She raised both hands to her mouth, trying to cover the gasp that wanted to slip out but unable to restrain the tears that seeped out of her sockets at seeing him almost lifeless in the healing soup, eyes closed and only indicator to his clutch on life being a small, steady breathing pattern and life-support signals on the side of the tank.

After another moment, Kara recovered herself enough she closed her mouth and lower her hands after wiping the tears from her eyes. She had to know what happen and once again she wondered why no one else was here, but she didn't mind looking for someone, she couldn't bear seeing him like this. After starring at him a few moments longer she slowly turned away to walk towards the door. She moved no more than a step when the lights deemed and she heard a whisper...but it didn't come from someone actually speaking it, it was clearly in her mind.

_Sister_

From the corner of her eye, she could have sworn there was movement, but she felt like there simply couldn't be any way. Even slower than she had turned, she turned back around and was stunned.

_The tank...it's completely empty!_

As if mocking her speed, she saw another flash, but this one felt more 'personal' it was like she felt it more than she actually saw it. Adding to the sense of dread she began to feel in the pit of her stomach was the low sound of metal creaking as weight was applied to it and then, breathing, and then the lower sound of small drops touching the floor. This time Kara allowed nothing to sneak up on her any longer and turned as quick as she could, prepared to attack if needed, and then just as quickly began completely frozen in place, the sight which she laid eyes on completely disarming her in an instant.

Matthew stood directly in front of her, close enough now the few and fine hairs standing up on her arm seemed to intersect with his more course patches. His eyes remained closed, a completely neutral expression on his face, almost like he'd been carved in stone. Fear quickly churned down to relief in seeing that he seemed to be okay, but then another whisper forced itself into her mind, only deeper this time, like the one before but more overcome by emotion.

_I missed you..._

And before she would have even had time to blink, his mouth become an unrecognizably sinister smile and his eyes opened for the first time...even more unrecognizable as yellow. In that split second, she had just enough time to open her mouth to scream as one of his hands raced up for her throat...


	20. Dark Kingdom, Part II

Chapter Nineteen:

**Dark Kingdom, Part II**

"NO!"

Kara awoke screaming uncontrollably, the nightmare she'd been in so real it took her a while to reality. In the meantime a 2-1B surgical droid and a FX-6 medical assistant droid held her down. After several more moments of continued resistance, the FX unit finally let out it's mechanical equivalent for a sigh and spoke in an dispassionate manner.

"Keep her steady, I'm injecting her with a sedative."

"No!" Rung out the two voices of the 2-1B and Olee simultaneously as the girl had just entered the room.

Seeing her calm down remarkably upon seeing her, the FX-6 withdrew it's hold over her and the prepped needle just as Olee reached her bedside. Lucid enough now, Kara took a good look around and saw her atmosphere was the same as in the dream but yet remarkably different, much more inviting and most importantly lacking a certain person in the bacta tank. Turning her face back to face Olee, she saw both a relieved and happy expression across her face.

"Don't worry, everything's alright, your safe."

"I..." Kara had trouble at first getting the words out, but then her skill improved remarkably. "I don't understand."

Olee seemed to feel responsible for what happened by her next expression and quickly spoke up again.

"I'm sorry, I knew I never should have left you alone. I've been by you most of the time we've been here and stepped out for just a few minutes to go to the mess hall when I got a cold feeling and I just knew to come back."

Kara glanced over and noticed the chair that had been pulled to the side of her bed for the first time and smiled. Suddenly she began thinking again about what happened and her smile faded.

"Where's everyone else?"

"Oh..." Olee hesitated for a second, but was quick to make a come back. "Well, I basically had to pull you and Master Shryne back to one of the shuttles...the fighting got really intense, they shot down the one next to us and...well anyway Master Shryne regained consciousness about halfway up and the medical droid refused to leave him alone until he entered a healing trance to avoid some forced bacta treatment. I told him I was going to start treating you, but he stopped me, he said your condition was much more severed and you'd need to be treated on board. They said you'd be fine though, all they really had to do was examine you, but of course there's no permanent damage. The worst part is that bit of lightning you took, you're gonna have to have a few bacta treatments for that if you don't want serious damage done, but other than that..."

Kara lifted a hand and Olee immediately silenced herself.

"You're not answering my question."

There was a quizzical expression across the girl's face. "What d'ya mean?"

"I realize you and Roan are fine, and very happy to hear it, but where is everyone else?"

"Oh, well..." There was hesitation again, but when she saw Kara wasn't playing she hastily got back to it. "Everyone in our strike team died when that Sith guy took down that building...what was his name again...and my master too, that's been the hardest one..."

"My brother, Olee. Please, just tell me how is he? He's not in one of the bacta tanks is he?"

"I'm...I'm sorry Kara..."

"Sorry? For...?"

"He, well, there was a huge explosion just before I got to the shuttle. He was still fighting long after I left and it took out a pretty big area around where we were. When it happened I felt incredibly agony, I could tell it was created through the force and I think he probably killed that Sith guy...but I couldn't feel Matthew anymore either after it happened."

There were several moments of pause as Kara appeared to think it over in her mind and her eyes caught Olee's again.

"We have to go back for him...he could be hurt, he could be..."

"Kara, we're hours away and..."

"How could we leave him like that?" Her expression of worry slowly mixed in with slight humor. "He's probably waiting at the extraction point now...oh, I bet he's mad..."

"Kara..." Olee grabbed her by the shoulder and she stopped, her face almost locked in a mid speech look and gazed into her eyes, the iris's beginning to swell up. "I'm sorry, there's no way he could have survived. He's dead...no doubt about it."

Kara began to laugh again, but this time it was clear some of the realization had struck her. Her eyes began to water a bit, she continued to speak of how he was alright, but it was only a matter of time before it really sunk down into her. All it took was for Roan Shryne to speak up for it to get to her.

"It's true Kara, I am so sorry."

She turned her head to her right and saw the master standing beside the 2-1B droid. He appeared normal except for a small scar on his right cheek and a somber look on his face. She didn't want to believe it, she almost couldn't, but Master Shryne would never joke about this sort of thing. Matthew was dead. A tear rolled down the side of her face and fell silently to the blanket as she realized they would know. The Sith might could have survived, no one really would have been looking for his presence, but if they didn't feel Matthew then he must have been gone.

Her body felt drained from the news, but knowing she was fine, Kara mustered strength she wasn't sure she had and sat up and moved over the side to stand up while removing the monitor placed on her. Alerted to her movement, the 2-1B and FX-6 immediately moved their arms back out to try and restrain her and make her lay back down, but she casually pushed them away and stood up, moving away from the bed.

"Please ma'am, you must stay in bed until you've been confirmed you're fine to leave." The 2-1B spoke in a much more caring voice than the other droid had, but it didn't matter to Kara who continued to walk towards the exit, quickly followed by Olee and Roan who begrudgingly seemed to agree with her next statement.

"From what I hear I'm fine, couple days in the bacta tank and I'm good."

The doors to the corridor slid open and the three Jedi left, leaving the two droids to care for their other patients as they moved behind Kara who didn't seem entirely sure herself where she was going. As soon as the doors were closed and they passed some distance from the med bay Olee stepped up to where she was beside Kara.

"Talk to me Kara, please? I know you say you're okay, but you can't be, not after hearing about your..."

Kara slowed her pace a bit and turned temporarily to face Olee with a quick smile. "I'm controlling my emotions, like a Jedi is supposed to. Restraining my emotions are especially vital at times such as this so as not to be tempted by the dark side. I'll be better in time, after I meditate."

"Are you sure..."

"Kara is a Jedi Knight, this is tough on all of us, but she will be fine." Roan intervened before she could say anything else, keeping his position behind them and allowing her to find her path.

"Is there a free room I can make use of?" Kara asked after rounding a corner that lead to some turbolifts.

"Actually, there's already been a room assigned to you." He said. "The captain thought it appropriate you take the room your brother used, 4-1G"

She stopped moving casually and turned to where she could address both of them.

"I'm going to meditate for a while. I'll let you know what my next move is."

"'Your' next move?" Roan commented with all seriousness. "I'm a master Kara, whatever we do next would fall on my shoulders if any, not to mention this ship doesn't belong to you, and from what we've been informed of the surviving Jedi, we now take our orders from Master Windu."

"'We' Master Shryne? You and Olee maybe, and any other Jedi out there maybe, but after everything that's happened, I think I need to make my own path for a while. Let's call it un-isolated exile. As for the ship, I think if the crew were game for following my brother, I don't think they'll have much of a problem listening to his sister. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll contact you once I'm done meditating."

Kara started to walk away, and Roan allowed her to make it about half way to the turbolifts before he spoke.

"If you're going to be meditating you might want to think about our next destination. We're going to be making a stop off at Onderon."

Kara stopped dead in her tracks. Neither could see her face, and she was glad, because she immediately gained the demeanor of a surprised youngling. Doing her best not to let too much out through the force or through her posture, she controlled herself and continued walking. Roan, feeling satisfied by her response encouraged Olee to follow him back the opposite direction as Kara stepped into the turbolift and meant to speak the floor she wished to travel too, but instead instinctively said 'home'.

**xXx**

Despite her years traveling all across the galaxy and her luxurious apartments on Coruscant, nothing could ever replace Naboo as Padme's home. Even though she saw the gray outlining of a star destroyer hanging over the brilliantly mixed green and blue mixture of her home, no menace could steal the feeling of happiness she held in her heart as she saw her home world again. Her peaceful moment of reunion quickly became broken as Threepio notified her of a transmission coming through and she hastily accepted just in time to hear a very stern and official voice unusual for someone of her world penetrate the speakers.

"Unidentified vessel, your registration is not recognized, transmit your ship's codes immediately."

The voice and the silence afterward left a chill down Padme's spine, as did the realization that the air traffic controller she was speaking with was definitely not one of her people. She knew she had to think quick or she was going to end up in the same situation she'd just left from. Deciding that they couldn't fool them with any codes, she'd have to try and put the ship down before they could get to her.

"Threepio, switch controls over to me."

"Yes Mistress Padme, I must say I'm quite relieved to be done with this flying nonsense."

Taking over the maneuvering, she quickly accelerated the ship as fast as the engines would allow into the atmosphere and twisted the ship away from Theed. Almost immediately as the ship moved, even with the inertial compensators canceling out most of the gravitational forces, Threepio still wailed in protest.

"Mistress Padme, are you quite sure you know what you're doing? Our current path does not take us in the direction of any settlements."

"I'm aware of our course, Threepio, you just watch the scanners."

"Oh dear, I do hope we don't regret this."

Almost as soon as the words came out of his mouth several bleeps showed up on the scanners, causing several beeps as they penetrated the stratosphere.

"Oh my! There are five signatures approaching from the north-west. Sensor analysis suggests V-wing fighters, they will intercept in...my goodness, only three minutes!"

She felt relieved to have transferred controls to herself as she knew she couldn't count on Threepio to remain cool under this pressure. More strained for time than she preferred however, she tried to push the ship to go any faster if possible and headed quickly for the plains near the forests which were quickly becoming clear. In what seemed like less even than the time Threepio had stated however, the fighters were on her tail.

Maintaining a distance of approximately one kilometer behind her. Padme knew a couple of evasive maneuvers and employed one, forcing the ship harshly to the left and barrel rolling in a curving arc that seemed to surprise the pilots enough for them to fly in paths that allowed no clear shots, but once she straightened back out, they were already on her tail again and wasted no time now to fire.

Ferocious red bolts flew in every direction past her ship in a frenzy to disable her as she managed to maneuver the ship like a bird fluttering it's wings, much to Threepio's protest. Giving in to one more of her surprises, she pressed a switch and a targeting console popped out from her dash. Quickly keying in a few commands, the screen switched behind the ship and seconds later, the two laser turrets turned on their axis and fired a few well aimed volleys into the cockpit of the lead V-wing, destroying the fighter utterly in a mesmerizing explosion and sending the others on more evasive flight paths. Unfortunately for her though, her tricks still weren't enough for the well trained clone pilots and with a few more coordinated shots to her ship, her shields as resilient as they were collapsed and her starboard engine erupted into flames.

Desperate to buy more time to land, Padme turned the firing system over to automatic systems and watched as several more bolts sprayed out across the distance, most hitting nothing but air, but one lucky shot managed to pierce one of the V-wing's shields and tore into it's starboard wing exactly where the laser cannons were, ripping it off completely and sending it spinning into his wing-mate, smashing them both to oblivion. The two remaining fighters spread further apart and accelerated to about half a kilometer behind her as she saw that they were only a few kilometers away from touching ground. Padme was about to switch the thrusters off and switch to repulsors when a combined burst of fire hit her engines and slammed her forward and knocked her out of her seat while Threepio went sailing to the back of the cockpit. Padme quickly picked herself up, but knew her ship was lost when the sensors showed multiple and clear red signs showing that the engines and part of the aft of the ship was completely gone. The smell of smoke began to fill her nostrils and when she turned her head she saw that smoke was in fact coming from the rear of her ship. She tried to get a response from the repulsors, a response from anything, but now as she was seconds from hitting the ground at close to full speed, she was completely out of control. The fire would have to wait, as would Threepio, as the fighters flew by overhead, most likely feeling their mission was accomplished, she strapped herself in and prayed to the force that her inertial compensators didn't fail too.


	21. Queen

Chapter Twenty:

**Queen's Court**

_Viewing the future in the force was nothing to living in the present. Delving into things to come was like watching your mind jump into a hyperspace full of swirling clouds of events both clear and not. Some occurrences were almost as clear as if it were being played out now, others seemed fragmented, leaving bits and pieces left in mystery._

_Digging deeper, Kara passed a 'future memory' that looked like an oddly designed ship engaged in a space battle bursting into flames and breaking in half, another horror of many she saw for things to come. As she sat in her meditative position on the floor she knew most of what she saw would be of great concern for others on board, but she had to know what the future held for her...her specifically. Seeing through the clouds of visions what appeared to be a plaza on her home world, she pursued that path more closely. Following into the public gathering spot, she quickly became worried when she saw a parade of fighters flying over and firing lasers and torpedoes into several buildings in the distant. She tried to stay longer to see what exactly what was happening, but like a page of a traditional book it flipped over and the scene changed to that of a more private space, like that of one of the castle chambers. Fires in the distance mixed with the vision's murky appearance and made it difficult to make much out, but in the center the presence of a single body on the ground stuck out like it was calling her. This was what she had been looking for, her fate, she saw herself lying on the floor inside the castle..._

_...dead._

Bringing her swiftly out of her visions, something she was almost glad about, was the noise of the communications display informing her there was an incoming message. She reached out and pressed the receiver and the voice of one of the female crew members came out through the speakers.

"Excuse me ma'am, you have a high priority message coming through on the hyper-wave channel from Master Windu, he said it was urgent he spoke with you."

"Very well, put him through."

the lights around and below the display brightened significantly and after a moment of piecing together thousands of micro images, an eight inch tall version of the Jedi Master appeared on the console. With an absolutely neutral appearance, he moved his lips to speak.

"Young Bastian, it's good to see you are well. I've been trying to contact you, but I didn't get a response until I contacted the ship directly."

"I've been meditating, master."

Mace frowned just a bit, but continued speaking. "Yes, I know, I wanted to speak to you about that. Let me start by giving my apologies for the lose..."

"That's not necessary, master, thank you. What did you want to know?" She cut him off, her voice covering the rudeness that usually would come with such an act.

"Very well. I know you've been meditating to try and find answers for what's happened and what you should do from here, but right now we have bigger responsibilities to the galaxy than our own personal journeys."

"I understand, I'm going to do everything I can to help."

The master slightly cocked an eyebrow as if surprised by her statement. Deciding it was better to continue while she was trying to work with them, he did just that.

"Good, then I believe you should be informed of our current situation. Senators Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis, the only ones left who can organize any help, have gone into hiding for the time being to an undisclosed location until a safer haven can be found for them. Another senator is on board your ship.

"The only Jedi I can confirm to be alive is you, the two with you, myself, and a very small number of others spread across the galaxy. Our numbers go down every day as more are killed and more walk away from the light...just about an hour ago I learned that Master Piell was killed on Kashyyyk..."

Kara's eyes widened a bit at the fallen master's name. Even Piell had been her master shortly after he'd finished with his first padawan. She still had considered herself to be learning from him, but now she knew she couldn't hear from him again. Mace seemed to respect her lose for a moment by remaining silent himself, but he still had more to tell her.

"As you're aware, you're currently in route to Onderon. I personally asked for this course as Senator Mon Mothma suggested to me that you would have the best luck negotiating with them, not to mention their military would be considerably useful."

"Why not Mandalore? Or perhaps Kuat? Or Sluis Van, Corellia, Mon Calamari..."

Mace held up a hand and began to explain himself even as Kara realized it was imperative she stop.

"All of those you just mentioned and many more, save for one, are in the hands of the Empire or pirate gangs. For now, Onderon is the most independent location we know of that we could possibly start a navy from. Also, if you would have allowed me to finish, I would have told you it is going to be the dispatch point where Master Shyren and the padawan are going to be leaving for Kashyyyk."

"What?" Kara asked in disbelief, but kept her composure cool.

"The wookie planet is heavily contested and unless they are reinforced, I do not believe they can survive the Empire's onslaught. It is extremely dangerous, I know, but if these difficult decisions are not made, we risk losing everything...we still have the Separatists to worry about after all, the Trade Federation seems to have officially taken over what was left and have been broadcasting it all across the holonet."

The words burned with anger in her mind. Of all the other members of the Separatists, the Trade Federation had been the worst of them and her personal _least_ favorite. There was also confusion too, however, as there had been broadcasts when she was on Murkhana about how the entire Separatist council had been killed and disbanded. Ultimately it was no surprise, she should have known she couldn't trust anything told by the Empire. Focusing back on the situation, she responded to the master.

"So who's going to help me?"

"I believe you'll find yourself with more help soon to come than you could have asked for, but for the moment I've been assured the ship is under your command. There's a pair of smugglers on board who may or may help you, but I can't promise you anything, they agreed to work with your brother and that was it... Oh, and don't worry, you'll be seeing me soon."

Kara bowed her head and the transmission ended. She felt more secure now, knowing what she had behind her and what she had to do, yet at the same time she felt more confused as everything she thought she knew seemed to be rearranged again. Standing up and looking at a small computer console implanted in the desk next to her bed, she clicked the ship wide timer that registered how long she had until they dropped out of hyperspace.

**Forty-One Minutes**

Perfect, she thought to herself. She had just enough time to grab something to eat and talk to who she needed to before it was time to see her family again.

**xXx**

When she awoke, it wasn't the mechanical hands of Threepio that she expected to feel on her shoulder, but then she didn't much care sense they were helping her up, she just hoped they weren't those belonging to one of those pilots. As she was helped to stand up and turn around, the pain she felt seemed to intensify around the front of her head and her arms...at least her legs weren't broken, she thought. She moved one of her hands to her forehead as they exited the cockpit and felt her hair stuck together, bringing her hand back down to show that it was blood.

As they passed closer to the boarding ramp, she noticed Threepio was already gone and the fire must have been put out as the smoke was gone, yet the smell still lingered in the air as did the burn marks on the walls. When they stepped down the ramp and onto solid ground, the light from the sun felt blinding against her eyes. She didn't know how long she'd been out of it on her ship, but regardless of how she felt she was relieved to be out of harms way, if only for a moment. They put a few more meters between themselves and the ship before Padme thought back about Ferus who Threepio had been taking care of.

"Wait. We have to go back for Ferus."

The person holding her didn't slow down, but did answer her with a voice that seemed familiar.

"He is safe, as well as the droid. We must move quickly, those men will be bringing reinforcements to examine the wreck, but I've set the ship to self-destruct."

Relieved again, Padme remained silent as they passed into the twilight of the forest. She couldn't think very well in her condition, but she guessed they'd moved approximately three hundred meters by the time she heard the boom of her ship's reactor tearing itself apart, then another four or five hundred meters when roars could be heard in the distance, undoubtedly of Imperial machines coming to investigate. After that, she had no way of judging how far they'd been going as the forest turned into more of a jungle like swamp. That was when their pace seemed to slow down a bit.

"You're lucky I was near by when it happened. Had I been at home, not even the droid's help would have gotten you out of there before the Imperial troops arrived."

Padme looked up to see a small semi-permanent structure that had been put up in the middle of the swamp lands in what looked like had to be less than a week. As they walked inside, Threepio stood in a tiny kitchenette like room attached to a slightly bigger den that connected itself with the rest of the home via a slim hallway, which seemed you could bump shoulders in walking single fill. Upon seeing her, even his circuits seemed to yell in joy.

"Mistress Padme! I was so worried that you might not make it back in time, but I was instructed to come here with Master Ferus as quickly as possible and continue treating his wounds. He does appear to be stabilizing."

The droid then turned his attention to her host and addressed him.

"Are you sure we will be safe here?"

Instead of being angered as most were when Threepio starting making inquiries to them, whoever this was seemed to become amused by his insecurity. "Yes, I do not believe they'll be able to find us her for quite some time, and when they do locate this site, we'll be long gone and this building destroyed."

Seemingly pleased by the response, Threepio returned to what he was doing and then disappeared down the hallway to where Ferus must have been, something Padme didn't believe was possible for the droid until now. She began to wonder more and more who this man was as he walked her down the hall and turned to the next door on the right and opened it to reveal a small bedroom, only enough room for a one person bed, mecho-dresser, and room enough between them and the two doors, but she didn't expect much at this time.

"Don't worry." The man said as he sat her down on the bed. "You're safe now."

Padme prepared to thank the man for what he'd down and turned to face him for the first time and became completely lost for words. The man smiled, content in that she was safe, and turned away and closed the door. Her body seemed to catch up with herself before her mind did, and she laid down fully on the bed and began to close her eyes, but as she did, her words were finally able to catch up with her mouth.

"Obi-wan...Kenobi..."


	22. Homebound

A sincere thanks to Crazy Man and Lady Naberrie Vader. Your continued dedication, and that of my other reviewers is greatly appreciated.

Chapter Twenty-One

**Homebound**

Adorned in un-adorned traditional black robes, something of which was starting to become a fashion trend for the new Emperor, Palpatine brought both hands up momentarily half way out as he addressed the senate.

"Senators of the Empire, these are perilous times for us all." The Emperor's voice boomed across the vast and open Galactic Senate, poignant and unyielding as he at last withdrew his hands.

Each senator leaned in closer, captivated by the Emperor's words, a spectacle that had been common even when he was known as Chancellor; More recently, however, it could have been more influenced by the changes from within the senate. Clones in new armor guarded every entrance to a senatorial pod and red and senate guards eerily watched them all, silent and unmoving. Even worse, it was easy to notice the places where senators had recently been 'mysteriously' switched with a different one, all the more loyal to the Emperor...or some gone for good. Senators and their aids could easily ask questions or make presumptions if they pleased, but it was unwise in public space as camera droids and microphones were everywhere. It was an atmosphere that apprehension even seemed to be surprised by overzealous security, when in reality there was nothing safe about it at all.

"Within a week of crackdowns on internal security, already two hundred and thirty-seven senators have been investigated and determined to be traitors to the order!"

The crowd gasped at the news of so many rebellious senators. There had been some miscellaneous reports across the holonet of senators going missing and it had been anyone's guess what happened until now. Adding to the concern amongst the crowd, the Emperor's frown carved deeper upon his scarred face and bowed his head a bit lower.

"Even as I speak, countless worlds turn to succession and open rebellion to undermined everything the billions who sacrificed their life's for over the past years have worked to protect."

As concerned boiled ever higher, the Emperor gazed back up to the crowds, shining light down to reveal more of his face and raised his right hand to give a reassuring gesture that seemed to wipe away most of the peril before he spoke.

"However, change will take place. Organizations will be brought under direct control to cut these traitor's resources, our military will increase to destroy whatever forces they muster against us..." The Emperor paused between words to add dramatic affect to the end of his speech. "and a thousand more senators will be questioned to end the corruption in the senate!"

Unanimous cheers burst across the senate as those who'd entered began questioning the security of the Empire now felt the state was completely safe and secured. The den was allowed to last a full half a minute before the Emperor raised a hand and the noise settled down almost as quick as it began.

"To that affect, I am authorizing the Moffs to exact a more direct stance on sector control until the issue of internal security can be completely resolved. In addition, I am installing two of my most trusted Moffs into the new rank of Grand Moff of the Imperial Center Oversector and Oversector Outer respectively." Taking a shorter pause than before, Palpatine let a smile that sent more wrinkles stretched across his face. "Nothing, will stop the Empire."

Raising his hands again, he welcomed the applause that swiftly followed, cheering that his two most important aides, Mas Amedda and Sate Pestage, shared as well. With the speech officially over, the central platform slowly lowered itself back down into the lower office. Once he was out of view of the senate and the ceiling closed behind them, the holographic projection of the Emperor shut down...

...and across the city, Palpatine commended the scientist responsible for the completely life like holographic simulator as he stepped out of the simulator and viewed from a distance the Imperial Palace coming closer to completion.

**xXx**

Across the galaxy, Kara watched the Emperor's speech across the Imperial Holonet. In her time as a Jedi she'd been required to engage in politics constantly, but usually found it to be corrupt and self-absorbing. The Emperor's speech seemed to be the epitome of her experiences. Yet given her feelings, she still found herself watching the news, trying to keep herself up to date on anything, even propaganda, that was coming out of Coruscant...or as they called it now 'Imperial Center'.

Kara prepared to simmer through more of the information she could access on her console, trying to safe visiting the bridge for when she thought she could handle more possible 'sorry for loss's, but before she could visit anything further, she heard the sound of her door opening, despite the fact she'd locked access.

"Hey, you're that Jedi right?" Asked her intruder.

"You know, it's extremely annoying when people do that." She said as she finally glanced up to see who'd disturbed her.

"I'm sorry, let me introduce myself. I'm Travis, me and my partner were working with your brother, oh and sorry about that by the way."

Kara's eyes narrowed. "You know, I've had about as many _I'm sorry_'s as I can take in one day, so I'll apologize if this seems rude, but if you have nothing _important_ to tell me, then please get out."

_Wow. _He thought to himself. _And I thought Jedi were supposed to be cool tempered, it really must run in the family._

"I just wanted to say after much discussion we've decided we're gonna stay along and help you too."

_Perhaps you could start by helping that nappy short-fro you've got going on your head. _She thought.

"Alright, you're using a modified transport, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Good, I could make good use of that and your services, and if the need ever arises I can dock a fighter up with the ship."

"Uh...yeah."

He thought it was odd how she totally seemed to dismiss him and his partner and just judge him by his ship, but he let it slide for now...she was starting to make him mad though.

"Anyway, I thought I'd let you know since we're going to be coming out of hyperspace soon that we'd like to offer to take you down to the planet."

"I appreciate your offer, but I'll be taking an official shuttle to Onderon, after I meet with the other Jedi. Now, once I'm done with my business on the ground, then I'll call you and you can come pick me up."

Travis snuffed rudely as she finished. "What, our ship not good enough for you to go down in?"

"I'll be meeting with the King and Queen of Onderon, who also happen to be my parents, so if you don't understand why I'll be taking down a shuttle, then that's on you. Now, if there is nothing else, I have business here I need to attend to."

Slowly becoming furious, Travis merely turned around and walked out of her room, leaving the door to shut and lock back on it's own. It was only about another minute longer before she herself left her room for the hanger.

By the time she arrived, Roan and Olee were already in the hanger waiting outside a small, but bulky transport. When the two saw her, they smiled like old friends who were leaving for a very long time and stood by while their other crew boarded their ship.

"So, no time for long goodbyes?" Kara asked with a similar smile, stopping short of half a meter.

"I'm afraid not, we have to leave immediately. Every moment we wait the situation on Kashyyyk grows worse." Roan informed her.

"You'll contact me once you've resolved the situation?"

"Of course."

They stood in silence for a few moments, then at least Kara responded with a typical statement. "May the force be with you, take care of one another."

Roan bowed his head in acknowledgment, but Olee rushed out for a quick hug.

"Please tell me you'll be alright too?" The girl said as Kara hesitantly embraced her back.

"Of course. You don't have to worry about me."

**xXx**

Iziz had always been a glittering jewel of civilization on Onderon. Of the nearly ten million people that lived there now, over ninety-five percent lived in Iziz away from the forests filled with beasts and other untold dangers. Even more marvelous was the Sky Ramp that led directly to the palace entrance. Multi-level ramps crisscrossed one another that all led to battlements, military hangars, barracks, turbolaser towers, shield generators, and other various military buildings. Onderon had learned much from it's past and was determined to keep out the violence of the past. It was amongst one of the particularly luxurious docking bays where they landed that signified it must have been directly in the service of the King and Queen, a luxurious site that was quite different from the city's main spaceport.

As she declined the landing ramp, it was in a style she hadn't experienced since she was just a tiny girl, outfitted in the finest of cream and golden colored robes and escorted by six honor guards standing on either side of the ramp. Standing at the other end of her escort was a man with salt and pepper hair in a white uniform that suggested a general, as well as a full regiment on soldiers behind him with laser rifles raised in a salute. Once she passed all the guards and stood directly in front of him, he raised him hand in a salute as well and welcomed her.

"Welcome, your majesty, Princess Kara Alisha Bastian, to Iziz."

Kara dutifully returned the salute smartly and brought up a weak smile. "Thank you, general."

They both dropped their salutes simultaneously and the general managed an even brighter smile, yet verging on menacing. There was no time for further words, however, as blue hues of stunning bolts lashed out from several of the Onderonian soldier's rifles and took out the guards around the shuttle before they could even respond. Kara looked back in horror then back to the general who merely smiled down at her even more eerily now.

"Your brother can't save you now."

Kara wished to do something, anything, but then a bolt struck her in the stomach and the last words she managed to get out was a garble of incoherent garbage as she slipped into darkness...


	23. Reunion

Chapter Twenty-Two:

**Reunion**

When she finally started to stir, Kara found herself to be seated in a chair moved before the throne of the King and Queen. She took a quick look around, watching the dozens of honor guard and special palace security soldiers standing as if statues in the vast throne room. The scene was a lot to take in at once for those who hadn't visited before. The floor was a selection of marvelous cream and brown marble tiles that were so detailed, it seemed each had it's own story, and polished so well you could almost glide across the floor. The walls and pillars stood majestic and strong, it's sand like covering shining bright as a sun under the crystal lighting and clerestory stained-glass windows. The central aspect of the room however, the one too which Kara focused her attention, was the throne made of pure Onderon gold. The King's throne rose roughly two feet above the Queen's, but both were equally wide, reflecting her parents corpulence, physically and egotistically.

Her parents both watched her for several moments silently, a mild look of disdain covering their faces and making them look almost wider. Despite their loathsome features, they were draped in the finest outfits that were similar, yet appeared even more elegant than what Kara was wearing, not to mention hijabs that stretched to their stomach and extremely ornate jewelry...and of course, the crowns. Eventually, however, the Queen spoke with an accent typical of the monarch.

"I'm disappointed in you, daughter."

"For what?"

Her parents glanced at each other and turned back, eyes narrowed.

"You know exactly for what, young lady." Her father spoke with an even more commanding voice than her mother. "You have the blood of your brother on your hands, the heir to the throne."

Adjusting herself in her seat, her mother, Kathy joined the barrage. "Without a male heir as our son, the throne will go to your cousin, Travis."

"Is this really what this is all about? And what about bringing me here like this? You couldn't have at least let me walk her myself?"

"We believed it was too dangerous, considering how fine tuned your abilities are." Her mother said. "As irresponsible as you've been, we find it hard to trust you at all, but you are our daughter so we shall listen, and of course, none of your party was harmed."

Steven, her father, leaned back in his seat and rubbed his face as he spoke. "So what do you have to say about the death of your brother?"

"That wasn't my fault!" She finally shouted, trying to stand up from her seat only to discover her hands chained to the sides.

"We were informed you were there at the time, and that you never stayed to help."

Tears began to crawl down her face at having to play back out the memories. "There wasn't anything I could do...I'm sorry you believe it's my fault, but we were attacked by a Sith Lord. Matthew stayed behind to give us enough time to escape. If you don't believe me, you can ask anyone who was there who survived. You should be busy building a statue in honor of his heroism instead of accusing me of his death. If I had my choice about it, I would gladly trade places."

"Well that opportunity has come and passed now, hasn't it?" Her mother jeered. "Though you can be assured, his honor will be memorialized her in Iziz. I can't say the same for you."

Kara bowed her head, all her negotiation skills at a loss as to how to persuade her parents. Rather than continuing on with the debate, she moved on to what she really needed to accomplish while there.

Mother...father...I'm not here to argue the rights to the throne or to speak of my brother. I'm here because Chancellor Palpatine has destroyed the Republic and created a cruel new Empire for himself to rule."

The two rulers starred at one another again, but this time when they turned they were smiling, and their smiles quickly turned into fits of laughter. Steven was the first to recover himself.

"Destroyed the Republic you say? That's a remarkably harsh word for a man who rescued the galaxy from evil and corruption...you must have meant _rebuilt_ it, and I can think of no better ruler than Palpatine after having led us through such trying times."

Kara's mouth gape slightly, she simply couldn't believe what she was hearing. "How can you say such things father? He has killed and persecuted millions already, and if left to rule, will undoubtedly do so to billions more!"

"You know not of what you speak. Palpatine has helped bring countless prosperity and increased security to Onderon." Her father's eyes narrowed further before he finished. "If you think we would ever betray him, you are gravely mistaken."

With a wave of her hand, the chains fell from her daughter's arms and Kathy adjusted herself once again. Placing a hand up against the side of her husband's throne, you waited on him to calm a bit and then spoke.

"If there is nothing else, you are free to leave, but do not return unless your allegiances have changed."

Kara rose from the seat, rubbing her wrists and gazing at them like a woman scorned.

"And how long do I have to stay?"

"I will not force you to leave." The King informed her. "But I would not encourage you to stay long. If the Empire should send anyone, we will not shelter you from them."

"I see...very well."

She bowed very briefly for them both, and then turned on her hell and half ran from the throne room, not wishing to see either parent longer than she had to. Her eyes filled more with tears every step she took, and as she entered the fore-chamber, she could feel her eyes beginning to swell.

_They've never been the kindest of rulers, but how could they treat me like this? Their own daughter!_

"Psst!"

Kara stopped in her tracks and twisted her head towards the shadows where she'd heard a whisper ushering her towards it. Taking a view cautious steps, she moved closer when at last a woman moved out of the shadows, revealing herself to be her aunt, Duchess Lisa Diath.

"Kara, it is most delightful to see you again."

Her aunt extended her arms for a hug, and Kara gave into them, embracing her back as Lisa brushed her hair with her hand. Kara had always been closer with her aunt Lisa, and everyone said they resembled each other better, they slightly darker skin, the brown hair (which Kara was starting to show through her dyed black hair), and of course the eyes. As the hug ended, Lisa looked around and began tugging at her arm for her to follower her.

"Come on, we need to speak, but not here. We have a lot to talk about."

The pair disappeared into the shadows, oblivious to the King and Queen in the throne room glancing at a larger than life, and extremely realistic, hologram of the Emperor. Both monarchs bowed their heads for several moments before the King, the official ruler, greeted him.

"Your majesty, it is a great honor to be in your presence."

"You have news for me?" The Emperor said in a more raspy voice than usual.

"Yes, my lord. A Jedi has found her way to Onderon."

The Emperor broke out in a benevolent grin. "Well done, you shall be greatly rewarded. Do not allow her to leave."

"My lord, if I might, I had a suggestion that could lead her and more of her supporters right into your hands without requiring any effort on the Empire's part."

The Emperor gave an intrigued look. "And what did you propose?"

Steven shared the Emperor's smile as he answered. "We let her think she's received the help she came here for."

**xXx**

The Western Square Castle was no where near as immense or ornate as the main palace, but that was not saying much considering the palace held over two hundred rooms. Sitting alone with her aunt, Kara waited on her to speak as she sipped some tea, a luxury she didn't afford herself as she began to understand she had little time left to stay.

"You don't have to worry about any of your people, they've already been released and already left for orbit." She said between sips. She placed her cup back on it's plate and reached into her robes, bringing back out a double-bladed lightsaber. "And, of course, I have just as many connections and supporters as the King and Queen."

Shocked, but none the less happy, she took the saber from her hands and tucked it inside her robes. Relaxing back in her chair, Kara thought about what her aunt had told her.

"So my mother and father have been studying the dark side?"

Her aunt nodded. "I'm afraid so, for quite some time. They always believed in the rule of Freedon Nadd. They've visited Dxun several times, but it's disputed if they viewed his tomb or not."

"Is there anything that can be done to turn them back? I love my parents, I'll do anything I can to save them."

Lisa shook her head in response, but that wasn't all she knew on the matter. "The King and Queen are not your true parents."

Kara appeared absolutely stunned. She was fortunate to be sitting fully back in the chair, for she feared had she not she would have fell straight to the floor.

"What do you mean they're not my parents? They've claimed me since childbirth!"

"I'm sorry Kara, I had two options when you were younger, tell you what I know as you grew older, out of the watchful eyes of the King and Queen, or notify the Jedi of your presence and offer them you and your brother. I'm sorry, but I did what I felt way best."

She calmed down a bit, but from what she was told, she still had to beg another question. "So if not them, who are my parents?"

Lisa smiled at the question, feeling it should have been obvious. "Me and Benjamin. We always wanted to tell you, but your _parents_ never would have had that. You see, when we were all still princes and princesses, your _parents_ feared for rule as they discovered I had become pregnant first, and with a male at that.

"At this point, Kathy and Steven had already started practicing use of the dark side. Thinking upon what choices they had, they decided on the easiest and manipulated me and my husband into hiding, where they could have me give birth and take the child from me and claim it as their own in secret..."

"Wait, and no one suspected anything?"

Lisa gave a weak, half-hearted smile. "They're both so fat, no one would have known the difference is she had or hadn't been pregnant."

Despite the fact it wasn't funny when thinking about it, Kara couldn't resist the humor of the statement. "And what about you? You never could speak up?"

"Their Sith alchemy is very strong, I couldn't remember anything, and by the time I was starting to have any memories, I was pregnant with you. Fortunately, I left notes of my dreams before they took you from me...I still can never forgive myself for what happened."

They remained in silence for almost a minute, like reminiscing on memories that they never really had. Angry at what had happened and confused by all the knowledge she had to take in, Kara closed her eyes as she felt the pain and heat of a headache building in her forehead. Ready to take action for what had happened, Kara stood up.

"I'll tell the Council of Lords what happened. I will not stand for such acts in my own family!"

"You may convince two or three, but the majority are paid of or under the persuasion of the King and Queen. I'm afraid there's nothing that can be done at the moment."

Kara was frustrated more than since she'd learned her own brother died, but Lisa was quick to offer her relief.

"I can, perhaps, help your cause though, which may ultimately lead to the good you seek."

"Hmm?" Kara whispered out inquisitively.

"Being a Duchess of Onderon, I still have some persuasion over the military. It is not much compared even with our own military, but I can offer you two destroyers and several smaller craft as well as the crew, soldiers, and equipment you'll need."

Surprised once again, Kara smiled brightly. "Given the situation, I think that's more than I ever could have hoped for."

"I wish I could do better, but it's the most I could muster without raising uncalled superstitions. You can stay upon the ship you came if you wish, but I think you'd find the _Vaklu's Claw_ to be more suited as a command ship, and more powerful."

Lisa stood up, and Kara immediately hugged her again, thanking her in her ear. Letting each other go, Lisa encouraged her to go, as they both understood it wasn't safe for her to stay there. Kara left the room and headed at a sprint towards the city spaceport. Taking out a com-link from her belt, she pressed a button and waited for Travis's voice almost a full minute. When he finally answered, it was both exasperated and impatient.

"Yes _your highness_, what can I do for you?"

Forcing herself to ignore the narcassim in his voice, she replied back with all proper seriousness. "I need you to pick me up, now. I'm uploading the location over an encrypted channel. We're getting off this rock."

Sounding surprised and relieved, Travis was much hastier to reply back. "I thought you'd never ask."


	24. The Cloned Menace

Chapter Twenty-Three:

**The Cloned Menace**

As Padme had discovered since the beginning of the Clone Wars, hours of tedious debates in the Senate couldn't compare to in the field _aggressive negotiation_s. This occasion being off world felt even more so. In what had felt like only a few minutes gone by, Padme had shut her eyes swiftly after laying back in the bed, and almost as suddenly as she'd drifted off, she was being urged up by Obi-wan.

It took her a few moments to get adjusted to the light, which seemed a thousand times more intense than it actually was, and even longer to lose the blur associated with early awakening, but once she was ready to sit up, she took her first peek out her tiny window...darkness. She remembered Obi-wan saying they'd leave the next day, which she agreed was a good way to throw the Imperials off their tracks, but she'd never imagined it would be before there was even light outside. At last she stretched her muscles, let out a long yawn, and stood up from her bed, making her way to the door and hoping Threepio could prepare her a warm breakfast while she took a hot shower. The scene throughout the home, however, left her with little hope for her previous thoughts.

To her right, where the hallway continued further to three more rooms, was Obi-wan pouring a thick, golden liquid across the back walls. Then, turning her head to the left, she saw Threepio, and even more surprisingly Artoo, packing what little there was to take with them. Turning his head just at the right moment, Threepio noticed Padme looking his way from mid-way down the hall.

"Good morning, Mistress Padme!"

Padme smiled gently and waved back in response, turning her answer back to Artoo.

"And good morning to you too, Artoo. I was beginning to wonder if I'd see you again."

The small astromech droid beeped and whistled his response while shaking around his chassis, showing his delight to see her as well. Padme wanted to know more about how he had gotten there, but decided to leave it for another time as she knew they'd be moving soon.

"Threepio, do you think you have a moment to prepare a pastry or something while I take a quick shower?"

"Oh, I'm afraid the showers are un-operational this morning, Master Kenobi didn't connect the sonic emitters." The droid informed her with an emotional tone similar to dismay. "Also, the kitchen appears to be stocked only with dehydrated items. If you'd like, perhaps I could boil some water and add some coffee powder..."

Padme raised a hand to futilely wipe away the tiredness that crept up inside her mind while shaking her head.

"No, I'm fine Threepio, thanks for the offer."

Disappointed, Padme started down the hallway towards the front, when she heard a door behind her opening. The thought of Obi-wan possibly dowsing the few possessions she had left on her in whatever it was he was covering the home with coming to mind, she turned expecting to see him entering her room, only to see Ferus in perfectly good condition step out the door. Padme felt her jaw drop a bit as the Jedi she'd expected to be in a coma still walking about like the fight had never happened. Taking a few glances around himself, it didn't take him long to spot the only one bothering to look at him. Bag already in his hand, he closed the door behind him and walked up beside Padme.

"Good morning, Padme. For a while there I though 'I' was gonna have to be waking you up."

Padme took another quick look of him up and down. "How did he heal you so fast?"

Ferus laughed, he must have expected her to ask him that. "What, that ole slice wound? Heh, that was barely a scratch...a mere flesh wound!"

Obi-wan, who'd been able to hear the entire conversation, put down his contain for a minute, turning to face them both with the faintest of smiles on his own face.

"I don't guess you're referring to the wound that grazed your spine are you?" Obi-wan paused just long enough for the other two to turn fully his way and then added a pinch more facetiousness to his voice. "The last time I checked, that's what would have caused you to pass out, and had it been much closer and I not done some healing on you, you'd be lucky if you were only paralyzed."

Ferus's look turned to scorn as if Obi-wan had just sold him out to the nearest authority. Turning promptly away from the senior Jedi, he silently walked past Padme to the living area, leaving her to quietly laugh under her breath. Taking the time from the temporary diversion to make up for lost time, she headed back into her room to collect her few belongings, only to discover they'd already been moved. Moving back out into the hallway, she proceeded into the living room as she saw everyone had started walking outside.

Stepping out the door last, Padme casually walked out of the way, over to where Ferus and the droids stood, as Obi-wan twisted a grenade and tossed it inside the tiny structure. Without having to give any signs, the group held onto their bags tighter and ran into the nearest thicket of trees and ducked for cover as the first blast erupted, blowing out windows from the front of the building and causing the roof to halfway collapse. Not even a second later, the second explosion came, partially blowing the walls out and sending what remained into flames, raising smoke and sparks into the sky like a foundry on Eriadu. Taking a few moments to watch the flames burn the temporary home, the group finally moved on further into the woods, once again needing no reminder that search parties would be investigating the area soon.

After a few minutes of cutting through lose forest and shallow swamps, the group ventured out onto the plains. Padme still wasn't sure exactly what time it was, but was relieved to see the sun had risen enough to expose the local territory, a small shimmer of light appearing over the horizon. She wasn't entirely sure where they were going nor how far they'd have to walk until another half hour later, as the sun just barely started to glare it's head, exposing the city of Theed only a short few kilometers away.

**xXx**

In the years that had passed since the Trade Federation had been forced off Naboo, Theed had undergone a massive amount of rebuilding that truly made it a galactic marvel. Seeing troops and war vehicles in the streets again, however, brought memories back thirteen years ago. Obi-wan and Ferus led the group from building to building, avoiding the roads as best they could until they could reach an entrance to the underground tunnels. As Obi-wan twisted the door open, Padme came over to him.

"If you tell me where we're going, I might can get us there faster."

Obi-wan smiled reassuringly. "I appreciate your offer, but I believe that will be unnecessary."

Opening the door, Obi-wan lifted it up, and a moment later a young member of the Naboo Security Force was crawling out of the tunnel. The soldier brushed himself off a bit and addressed his attention directly towards the Jedi Master.

"Master Kenobi, the team sent me ahead to lead you to the rendezvous point." The soldier let out a tired sigh as he finished and then his boyish features turned to relief. "I wanted to tell you, it's good to know your here. I wouldn't be sure we could get into the throne room without you."

"I believe we have a few more advantages at hand in-case there's too much trouble."

Obi-wan nodded his head towards his group. The soldier silently acknowledged Ferus and the droids, but then upon seeing Padme let his mouth fall out of place.

"Sen...Senator Amidala! I had no idea you would be here!"

Padme took a step back, not realizing how powerful her image was despite how unglamorous she looked at being woken up so early and not allowed to change clothes or take a shower. Not knowing what else to say, she shrugged and gave what she thought was the honest truth.

"Well, I'll help as best I can...not that that can really compare to a Jedi or a trained soldier."

"We've all heard of your work in and outside of the senate, you're greatly devaluing yourself!"

Simply deciding to grin and divert attention away from herself as quickly as possible, she responded as best she could in light of her previous experiences.

"So, will we be meeting up with Captain Panaka at the rendezvous?"

A frown spread across the young man's face. "It's _Moff_ Panaka now, and no, he's too busy being privy to the Emperor while the planet around him is swiftly being subjugated"

"Panaka? Turned against the people?" She asked, raising a brow, her voice hollow with disbelief.

"I don't think he really sees it like that. He's trying to serve his people the best way he knows how, and that's with a stable government backed by another supporting government. The Empire hasn't really been hard here either, it's just...they're so extreme, so rigid in their ways, and it all seems backwards. Those of us who stay quiet didn't start having any trouble until they started trying to attack the Gungans."

"They what?"

"Yeah, they did their best to make sure even us humans here didn't hear about it, but we all know it's hard to just walk in and wipe them all out. Fortunately most of them escaped, but their cities have been left in ruin. After that, pretty much everyone started protesting and speaking out. Well, the Emperor wasn't going for that. It didn't take long for them to start rounding people up. Some they took to camps, others just out right disappeared. The NSF was supposed to step in to flush out 'dissidents', but after those stormtroopers shot that man in the back...no, the military basically got split after that. Those who were loyal to the old Republic had to go into hiding and now, under pressure from the Emperor and Panaka, Queen Apailana has been forced to declare martial law. I don't know how long this can go on...if either find out about how she's harboring Jedi..."

As the soldier spoke, an Imperial hover tank floated along towards their location, a trooper peering from the top watching for anyone who might try to leave their home. Seeing the craft coming too close for comfort, Padme cut him off.

"Come on, we'll find a way to save the Queen, but we have to get out of here first."

"I hope you're right, if not I think they'll execute her." He said as he lowered himself into the darkness of the tunnels...

...not realizing that someone had already seen them escaping, someone who both Padme and Ferus would not soon forget...


	25. Rebel Dream

Chapter Twenty-Four:

**Rebel Dream**

The initial trip from the surface into space on board the _Stardust_ had been more comfortable than Kara would have thought given the incommodious circumstances surround her's and Travis's meeting. Space, however, always proved to make her, and not surprisingly many others, lay aside such petty occurrences and just stare straight into the wonders of the galaxy. Even from Onderon, the view was particularly spectacular due to the nearby Transitory Mists which contained the Hapes Cluster, a bright pink and green field of dense stars that appeared clearly even light years away. To Kara, however, even this spectacle didn't compare to the _Vaklu's Claw_ that was directly ahead of them now, a large and highly modified Onderonian battle cruiser.

Amongst Imperial ships which held a highly standard and practical form, the Onderonian ship fielded a sort of hand crafted elegance that no other could match. Her main structure appeared like a rectangle that had melded with an oval to form a pill shape containing a number of smooth and curving surfaces, further extending it's reach by raising up towards the back to connect to a smaller, but more elongated structure that looked almost like a squashed eagle's head. To either side, a more bulky structure about ninety or a hundred meters from the main structure remained attached by curving supports that stayed flat across the front and back while a larger, twisted support connected these hanger bays to the bridge, looking like six arms that secured the vessel at almost two thousand meters. As if the engineers had tried to make her even more unique, the ship was painted in a tan, cream, and white color scheme. The final details she noticed as the transport glided towards the starboard bay were the oversized cannons the ship wielded and were displayed in an array made to induce fear. Above either hanger bay laid two cannons side by side with an additional cannon above it, on either side of the bridge, which was distinguishable by the cone shape it made at the top of the upper superstructure, had three smaller, but still large cannons in a line on either side, and then at the very tip of the ship were the largest two cannons, extending a good thirty or more meters from the ship, declaring themselves the ultimate in capital ship warfare. Soon enough though the _Stardust _breached the magnetic field and landed on the outer edge of the bay, providing a view that displayed how the inside was even more magnificent than the outside.

The docking bay itself extended for hundreds of meters to the other end of the outer structure, allowing an unobstructed view of the massive golden interior that held dozens of fighters in racks across the ceiling, leaving only a few that needed servicing on the actual deck and providing room for countless more ships. The fighters in the bay were a unique craft of their own right, forming a narrow but long cone shape, the form only slightly interrupted by a smaller cone on either side to support the engines and a short wing over each to support a total of four launchers and provide maneuverability while still allowing the most number to be stored on board. The cream and gold ships appeared simple by design, but a dual cannon above the two person cockpit, a cannon at the end of the two cones, and the four launchers made them look nothing less than deadly. She could have stared on at the bay and the outside of her new ship for hours, but already Travis and Longo, who she'd just recently had a thing for name games, were headed out of the cockpit and she knew it was time to lead her new fleet out.

Leaving the ship behind, the two smuggler pilots moved in behind her as they reached the bottom of the ramp and a single individual showed to be their welcome party, a mid aged woman with partially graying hair and light brown skin that greatly contrasted the hanger interior, wearing a uniform similar to an admiral, but bearing an insignia on her left breast that indicated more towards commodore. The lady's hard face softened as Kara descended to the bottom of the platform and offered a marginal smile.

"Welcome aboard Princess Bastian. I will lead you..." She glanced to either side towards the other members of her small group. "and you only to the bridge where I shall relinquish command of the _Vaklu's Claw_ into your hands."

"That will be unnecessary commodore. I will leave the standard operations with you just consider me like a flag officer, I'd rather be here making decisions from a fleet perspective."

"Of course your majesty, thank you."

Kara looked up to the fighters hanging over head before turning her gaze back. "Just don't expect me to always be in the bridge, I'm anxious to see what it's like in one of the new fighters."

**xXx**

Being led from the hanger to bridge, the build of the ship seemed to intend for the journey to appear like a tour aboard a luxury cruiser. A turbolift located halfway down the bay connected them with the central support arm that glided up then carefully curved horizontally so it connected to the rear of the command structure. Going up the lift, no longer escorted by her pilots, felt like a personal adventure through a space aquarium as the glassed turbolift stayed along the edge of the support beam and allowed limited obstructions to the outside until it stopped in the middle of the command deck. The doors opened to the central command forum, but even before stepping out the clear people mover allowed a clear view of a mall like promenade filled with crew constantly moving through the wide avenue. Above head, Kara could see a giant sky-lite filled with artificial light that filled the corridor with an inviting hue. As the commodore, who she'd learned was formally referred to as Commodore Trald, led her out into the forum and onto a fast moving track only a few feet away. In under a minute, they were walking through a side hallway that led to the bridge.

Coming into the bridge was like entering another world, the design foreign but stately. Entering from the rear and towards the port, her initial few was obstructed by a computer bank towards the back, only able to see part of the bridge and noticing a door reading 'Escape Pod A' to her left, double doors in the middle of the back wall to her right, and further down a door identical to the one she entered in an opposite position. Then, as she walked out into the bridge, she saw how the style incorporated open views and a feeling of command. Just ahead of the computer banks was a two person station with a holographic display rising transparent between it and the rest of the bridge. Ahead, two stations were situated in a just barely lowered area directly before the view ports, which extended in a curved manner from halfway across one side of the bridge to the other, allowing in an impressive vista which currently featured the _Resurgence_ and the other battle cruiser. In the middle of the bridge, either to the right or left, was a round three person station that required a small step up to reach and then finally was the command seat, situated on a slightly higher step up directly in the middle. Everything was in perfect coordination, and anything that fit on one side had a twin on the other. Taking the command chair for herself while the commodore took to one of the two empty seats behind her, Kara prepared to issue her first command.

"Establish communication with the _Resurgence_, visual please."

An officer sitting in a seat to the right in the pit ahead of her confirmed and a moment later part of the massive view port opaqued and then about two meters of the center turned from space to the bridge of the _Resurgence_, the captain and senator both looking directly towards her. The senator was the one to great her.

"Kara...I'm sorry, Princess Kara Bastian...please forgive me, it's not very often you have to address a Jedi by any other title. What can I help you with?"

"Not specifically, no. What are your orders?"

Bail appeared taken back by the question. "I think you have me confused. This is your fleet, and in any circumstance, I may not be able to remain with you much longer."

"I may be in command, that's true, but I have my superiors as well. You are a leader in this resistance, are you not?"

He laughed for a second before answering, not a serious laugh, but something to show how untrue it was.

"I'm sorry, but you couldn't really call this a formal resistance. Most of our support in the senate has been removed, and Mon Mothma and Garm are hiding without any support from their worlds...what you see here now is all we've got."

Kara hadn't taken much time to consider the situation before she'd gotten involved now, a luxury she never had a hope of. Now she was regretting that she hadn't come and seen him while she'd still been on the ship.

"We have some ships now, is there anything we can do with them to get more support for our side? Perhaps get the other senators to come for a meeting and get some sort of command going?"

"There's rather little we can do really. We don't have the firepower to hit anything major, a shipping lane or rim world, maybe." Bail paused for a moment, and then his eyes lighted up like he'd suddenly had an epiphany. "Maybe there is somewhere else we could try that could have more success."

"Where?"

"Naboo. I knew someone from there...they're a highly democratic and civil world for being located in the rim. Not just that, but they could supply us with all the plasma we need and could marginally bolster our military. After that we can worry about more of what we need from places like Malastare and Sullust, but for now, Naboo seems like a good target to prove we can actually win. It may take us some time to be ready though, we recently took a far amount of damage."

Kara took a second look at the ship from the side of the view port that wasn't displaying his image. This time as she looked she could see heavy carbon scoring on the sides of the ship as well as areas that looked like they were ready to come apart at any moment. Unfortunately, Kara did not have the time to wait now, for she could feel this was part of her destiny, but as she hadn't seen it in her vision, she was worried about what it would mean for her to wait.

"Stay if you must, but we must leave as soon as possible, and any help you could give would help significantly."

Bail seemed to consider it for a moment, then at least he gave in. "Very well, we will help if we can."

"Good, do what repairs you can...we leave in an hour."

**xXx**

The scene was nothing like what she'd expected. Naboo was a place of serenity and beauty, peace and art. Now, as she came into system, alarms wailed and people shouted as the gentle planet in the center of the display was surrounded by both Imperial and Separatist craft, then of course there was still the N-1 fighters flying indistinguishably from the hundreds of the other fighters amongst the chaos. Her small fleet was at least not the most outnumbered combatant on the field, and even more promising, they had one enemy fighting another, but that was little comfort for a fleet consisting of a few capital ships and a handful of support craft...especially as tactical displays for the two tactical officers to her right and on display for the general bridge showed an overwhelming number of red craft, especially those that were specifically star destroyers or battleships.

An explosion several kilometers away, but close enough to opaque to the view ports indicated a Victory-_class_ destroyer losing hull containment, a third of it's forward triangular structure cracking and disintegrating while the command structure collapsed in on itself, detonating the power cells and engines which took everything else with it. Every second she watched, a surreal feeling still setting in her mind, the scene got more desperate, more fighters shredded by enemy weapons or simply whisked away completely, just to be replaced by more while more massive ships maneuvered to try and get the edge over the other while their gun batteries danced in deadly processions across their shields and armor. Just beginning to hear herself speak, Kara realized she was already issuing orders, commanding shields to be raised, fighters to be launched, weapons to be fired.

Even acting on instinct, the words were coming out far later than they should have, as the enemy ships realized on scanners they had new targets to fire on. And so they did.


	26. Prelude to War

Chapter Twenty-Five:

**Prelude to War**

_Fourteen Hours Earlier..._

"My lady?"

"Hu...huh?" She asked, awoken without realizing she'd fallen asleep. She quickly continued as if embarrassed and opened her eyes, relieved to find they were somewhere dim. "Yeah, I'm awake!"

Padme glanced in the direction of the voice, blinking as more light touched her eyes. As she turned her head, she noticed the two Jedi and droids huddled in one corner while over a dozen young men in uniform hugged the walls. She kept searching the room looking for the source of the voice, continuing to think of the familiarity she felt within the room.

"My lady, this way." The gentle voice called. The lady must have realized what she was looking for.

Turning her body around behind her, Padme spotted who it must have been, and immediately was surprised to see Teckla Minnau standing by an archway leading out. Teckla had served her as a handmaiden even as a senator, and the last time she'd seen her was on Coruscant.

"Teckla, what are you doing here?" Padme inquired.

The handmaiden offered a soft smile and a slow tear that accumulated in her eyes before spilling their banks and flooding down her tanned face like a flooded desert. She noticed the tears dripping from her face and rushed to slide an arm across her face, wiping them away.

"Forgive me, my lady." Teckla spoke with a weaker voice than before. "I did not expect to see you again...I had come here to see your funeral."

"My what?" Padme asked in acrimony and bewilderment. Teckla moved back an inch or two, but returned to a cool sensibility. She must have expected the emotions that would flow from her upon hearing such news.

"Yes ma'am, you heard me correct. There was a formal procession with your body floating down the palace plaza in parade style and everything. It's been extremely emotional for us all, but now that you're here..."

"This is an outrage!" Padme cried, upsetting the guards outside who looked in to make sure everything was alright. "It's completely absurd! How _dare_ they do such a thing?"

Teckla made to raise her hands towards Padme, but refrained from touching her fearing she'd react to it negatively. Doing her best to calm her, she waited a second hoping that she might have calmed down just a little.

"I'm sorry this upsets you...I agree, it is extremely revolting. The Empire must have created something that looked just like you and set the whole thing up is a ruse, hoping they could kill or capture you before you could get in contact with anyone."

"Well clearly!"

Feeling it was safe now, Teckla brushed Padme soothingly. "The point is that you really are alive. I think we're all grateful for that."

Padme smiled back gently, and with her more settled now she moved in to fully distract her from her duress. "I also think after taking a look at your belly there's been some even better news...how did it turn out?"

Padme frowned, as did Teckla once she heard her reply of, "What?"

"Why the baby of course!" Teckla began smiling again, she began to feel sure this was a joke. "Was it a boy or a girl?"

"I..."

She digged through her thoughts trying to come up with the information Teckla looked for, but couldn't find a thing. Something wasn't right about it, Padme was sure of that, deep down a feeling told her what she was being asked was accurate, that she had been pregnant, that she had given birth, but she couldn't remember any of it. It was like a distant memory that with time faded into insignificance and then eventually seemed to be purged to make room for fresher thoughts. She shook her head in frustration. This couldn't be possible, it had to have been recently, and not only that, but that wasn't the sort of thing you just forget. Without anymore information than before, she turned her eyes back up to the handmaiden, who could see tears beginning to crown the bottom line of her eyes.

"...don't know..."

**xXx**

There was still much confusion in Padme as they left the building, but she was sure there was nothing to be done about that now. Obi-wan had come over to separate the two before the handmaiden could unintentionally stir up anymore unneeded drama, but the damage was already done, she wanted to know what had happened to her child and why she couldn't remember him...or her. Deciding it was best to leave the discussion until a time where she might could get some answers, and possibly to stave off the emotional heartache longer, she raised her head high as the bright, late morning sun covered her and the hundreds of cream and spring green colored building that's dominated downtown Theed, the occasional spire or crimson roof spotting the earth friendly city with the palace overshadowing the buildings in their vicinity. Now that she had a good view of where they were she realized they were on Broadberry Meadow, a garden on the edge of the plateau that was secluded on one side from the royal hangers and generators, and on the other from the palace by a split in the Solleu River.

The handmaiden came back up beside Padme as the soldiers glided by them, her extending a gentle hand to her shoulder as the others vanished as easily as a wisp of smoke from her mind as she felt immediate comfort. Even though there was much uncertainty, anger, and sorrow ripping at her heart, it was the reminder of the simplest comforts that put her at ease, letting her go on when even her years of discipline wouldn't seem sufficient to block out the pain. Crawling into the tunnel hidden discreetly beside on of the trees, Padme sunk back down into the dimness of Theed's secret network that would take them directly to the palace. After several more minutes, and with a few low power sonic detonators, the party entered the basement of the palace.

The Jedi were the first to notice them. Both blue lightsabers activated with a snap-hiss and caused a new cascade of vibrant light to the lower levels, light that shone off wall and floor tiles as well as several stormtroopers missing their helmets. None of their blasters were raised, apparently they had just arrived and either weren't as well trained or didn't realize what had caused the explosion. Most likely none of them realized what had. Reacting before they even focused their attention on their new visitors, Obi-wan turned his lightsaber forward, stabbing the first trooper and killing him instantly, then swept his saber to the side taking out another trooper. Ferus meanwhile stepped between the two center troopers quicker than a regular human would have thought possible and swung his saber in a single circle, slicing both in two chard pieces. The remaining troops scattered amongst the rubble all had expressions of horror etched upon their faces as shock set in quicker than their battle readiness and they were quick to fall to the ground with their comrades as green bursts pierced their glistening new white armor and filled the room with the stench of ozone.

"Obviously not the best his majesty has to offer." Ferus mentioned with overtones of sarcasm.

Obi-wan moved forward to examine some of the bodies that laid out while the other troops hesitantly moved closer but made sure to stay behind the senator and the Jedi. It only took a quick look at two or three of their faces before he could make an obvious observation.

"These aren't clones."

"What?" Padme and Ferus asked virtually in unison.

"Their not clone troopers, at least not Jango Fett clones. I knew something was off as soon as we entered. Regular troops would never hesitate like these men."

_Not regular clones? _Ferus thought. _What could the Emperor be up to? Could it be that he had resorted to recruiting regular men to fill in the costly gaps that needed filling when clones die? What if the implications were even worse. Images of that twisted version of Master Yoda swirled through his mind. What if Palpatine was using not only different templates for his army, but was using a process that could mature them much faster than even the quickest known techniques?_

Obi-wan and Ferus exchanged understanding looks of tribulation. Padme stood examining their expressions as if she was lost, but they didn't bother with an explanation. It was better for now that until they knew more they not put more undue worry on her, especially in such a dangerous hour. Switching back into that Jedi General stance he'd adjusted himself to over the course of the Clone Wars, Obi-wan swiftly changed subject and addressed the group.

"This is unexpected, as is the presence of these troopers this low in the palace. Someone not only anticipated our attack, but also a hidden area that few would have known of." Obi-wan paused a moment to look over in Padme's direction. "I fear that the palace may now be under the control of Moff Panaka."

"Captain Panaka is loyal to Naboo and it's people above everything else!" Padma spoke up immediately, obviously still in a self-industed delirium regarding something she should already have suspected.

"True, and also formally to the Republic and Palpatine, which is now the Empire and it's Emperor. Let's also not forget that he doesn't even know you're alive Padme or for that matter probably half of what he _should_ know. It may seem hard to realize, but Panaka siding with the Empire is not all that unbelievable."

"What about the Queen? She would never stand for this sort of incongruity, especially against her own people."

"There's nothing to suggest she's still in control." Ferus mentioned.

"All the more reason we must move quickly before they can remove her from the palace. If we can secure her then it'll be much easier to take the planet." Obi-wan interjected.

With no more words the group moved on, following the Jedi and senator as they headed the most discreet path towards the throne room.

**xXx**

"You have made the proper preparations?" The Emperor asked from the hologram platform at the floor of the throne room.

"Yes, your majesty. With the added authority and forces you've granted me, we were able to depose of the Queen and prepare the palace for attack. I have full confidence that with my knowledge of their tactics that their insurrection will not last long." Panaka said while trying to keep the solemn expression from crossing his face.

The Emperor was quick to pick up on his feelings.

"Come now, regret is most unbecoming of a Moff. You can be equally assured that everything you're doing is for the best of Naboo. Do you think I would have any part in something that would negatively impact my home world?"

Panaka's frown deepened for a moment. He thought back to how he'd been informed of the Jedi insurrection and how they had killed Padme. He didn't believe a word of it until he saw here body resting in a floating casket and a formal request to lead the procession for her funeral. Panaka straightened further in what had formerly been the Queen's seat of power and his conscious felt at rest. If he could not prevent the Senator's death, he'd be sure to avenge it.

"Absolutely not, my lord, forgive my irrationality. I was merely at an internal conflict caused by everything that's happened so quickly. Your faith is well placed in me."

A dark smile cut across the scarred and deformed face, something that was even more eerie as his extra human size and extremely well transmitted form allowed details that wouldn't seem as profound even in person.

"Good. Contact me once the Jedi and all who have joined them are dead. More forces are currently en-route to help you with any dissidents that may be left to be dealt with."

The transmission faded and Panaka felt the stiffness fade as his chest expanded from a large exhalation of breath he'd been holding for the full conversation. He had to wonder to himself if politics was always this difficult. Leaving the troubling thoughts behind, he pressed a button for the palace commander.

"This is Moff Panaka, give me a status report on the palace situation."

Releasing the button, the speakers responded back with static and silence. He waited a few moments and then called again; still nothing. Fearing the worst, he pressed another button for the garrison at the palace hanger while simultaneously un-holstering his blaster. Once again, he heard nothing, however outside the throne room the silence was a different story. There came the sounds of muffled screams and the hiss of blaster fire...and more disturbingly lightsaber movement. He quickly climbed to his feet and pressed an emergency button that would put all forces on alert of the danger, but before he could get any further the side of the throne room door exploded in a molten yellow appearance followed by the appearance of a blue blade. He cursed under his breath at the lack of shielding against lightsabers in the door as the slicing continued upwards and then turned to the side, the Jedi would be inside in seconds.

Acting quickly, the four hand picked guards took up cover around the room and pointed their blasters at the door. Panaka, knowing of all secret passages, pressed the last button he'd be needing and a small exit opened in the floor that lead directly to the palace hangers. He took a step down into the passage as the section of the doors collapsed, followed immediately by a small grenade. Panaka was quicker than the rest to shield his eyes, he could recognize a flash grenade anywhere, and the blast temporarily blinded the other men in the room. With a flash of speed, Panaka rushed down the exit as he saw one familiar and one not so familiar Jedi enter the room, deflecting un-aimed shots, followed by numerous ex-palace guards. He cursed once again as the exit closed and he sprinted towards the hanger, he should have known that these new clones that lacked the proper training or growth time of the previous generations couldn't be expected to hold off against the Jedi. Once he had cleared several meters he tried his personal comm and found that it was effective, apparently the former lack there off the result of jamming.

"Yes, my lord?" Asked the familiar voice of a Fett clone, one of the few that were on planet.

"Garrison control, the palace has been overrun, ready my shuttle immediately, I'll be coming aboard the command ship when it arrives."

"Yes sir, what of the forces in the palace?"

Panaka thought of it for a moment. If they had taken the palace so easily, they wouldn't hesitate to branch out through the city and overtake the planet and these new men weren't up to trying to contain the situation, at least not without considerable losses. He'd never allow that.

"Mobilize all armored and heavy units, activate the turret defenses. Don't stop pummeling the palace until the ashes catch fire."

**xXx**

Padme assisted the Queen through the throne room. The Queen, she'd found, apparently had been placed on house arrest and not allowed to leave her own bedroom until this moment. Coming closer to her throne, she grimaced as she saw the loyalist guards carrying away Panaka's guards, but also felt relived at being returned to where she belonged. It also brought other questions that were going to have come one way or another.

"What of Panaka?"

"The _Moff_ seems to have chosen to run and re-group." Obi-wan mentioned with controlled contempt in his voice. "The city is almost yours."

"Your next move is to the hangers...obviously?" The Queen said assuredly.

"Obviously." He confirmed. "It will be more difficult, but we've already sent out a team to disable the defenses, and we have reinforcements on the way."

"Panaka undoubtedly called for reinforcements as well and they could arrive within hours or less."

"The worst of it should be over with by then, and the fleet should be able to take on whatever forces are on their way."

The Queen's expression revealed nothing, but her thoughts told him that she was at least momentarily convinced.

"Very well, please, go and help retake the city."

With a swirl of their cloaks, the Jedi disappeared out the door towards the hangers. Taking up their place, Padma faced the Queen with a solemn expression, a thought surfacing back in her mind from when they'd first entered the palace.

"My Queen, the stormtroopers here are not like the clone troopers from the war."

"No, most of them are less experienced and even less well trained."

"What about...other discrepancies?"

The Queen gave her a questioning look, but at the same time she appeared to somewhat understand.

"You don't mean other, unusual additions to the army?"

"You might could say that..." Padme hesitated as what she'd experienced right before they left Coruscant still left her shaken. "I mean, have you come into contact with any other Jedi, particularly any who didn't seem to quite act right."

"Hmm, no, not really. We have had a few Jedi come and ask for shelter, but that's about it."

"Who was among them?"

"No one of particular importance at first, if you'll excuse my reference, but around the time I was taken out of office I got a message from Master Yoda, who had just recently come on world."

Padme couldn't keep the horror from crossing her face, but she managed to ask one final question.

"Wh-at...what did he tell you?"

The Queen didn't seem to pick up on what was troubling Padme, but could sense something was amiss. Deciding she'd answer before asking, she answered oblivious to the undertone of malevolence that seemed to echo through the statement.

"Why that he was taking good care of all the survivors and that he'd contact me when the moment arrived."

**xXx**

Explosions rocked the turrets surrounding the hangers, and moments later the blue-white haze of an ion bomb indicated that all automated defenses in Theed wouldn't be coming online anytime soon. The sight inside the hangar, which had also been made into a command center was even better. Very few troops and no military vehicles, except of course for star fighters, was all that remained as a defense. The group took at the last of the troopers in flight control just as the Jedi arrived and as a slender, chrome covered shuttle lifted off and blasted out of the hanger at full throttle.

"Panaka, no doubt." Ferus ground out as he'd hoped to capture the man partially responsible for all this. He had no time to worry about the fugitive, however, as an eerily familiar voice sounded behind him.

"Convinced you have won, are you?"

Ferus and Obi-wan both spun around to see the clone of Yoda, surrounded by the dead bodies of the group who hadn't been ahead of the Jedi. In his hand he held a saber similar to the one Master Yoda traditionally carried, only the blade that came from it was red as a gundark, a Sith mockery of the weapon. Both Jedi held their blades out in defensive postures towards the imposter, already well aware of his true status.

"Wish to fight me, do you, hmm?"

"You are not the true Master Yoda. We will do what we must." Obi-wan boldly mentioned, remaining at the ready for any attack, but all three remaining motionless.

The imposter grinned evilly, a disturbing look across such a familiar and generally kind creature. "Be worried about me, you shouldn't. Fear for you allies, you should have."

From the direction of the palace came the sounds of rockets impacting duracrete followed by heavy laser blasts that could only have come from tanks or walkers. Using the opportunity of the distraction, Yoda lunched forward at Ferus, who just barely managed to move in time to block. Obi-wan had barely had time to notice the attack against Ferus when he found the red blade to be swinging towards him so quickly it was like the blade was still touching Ferus's.

Obi-wan pushed his saber back in Yoda's direction, but by that time the little creature had already flipped and landed about a foot away. Barely having time to land before attacking again, Yoda jumped into the air and over the Jedi's heads, making a sweeping motion with his saber as he did so that forced both Jedi to hurl their sabers quickly above their heads. Ferus attempted to use the force to push the creature away before he had a chance to repeat the attack, but it just seemed to be one step ahead of them, sending out a volatile burst of lightning that crashed straight into his torso and forced him several feet away onto his back.

"Pathetic, you are. Not even a challenge, this is not." The imposter chided. "Wonder how long the _great Master Kenobi_ will last, I do."

"I'm not out of the fight yet!" Ferus yelled, leaping to his feet, but noticeably a bit sluggish from his recent recovery and now his new injuries.

"Stayed down, you should have, more pain now will you cause."

Before Ferus could grasp what he was saying, he felt an immobilizing pain shoot up his spin from where he'd been stabbed in the back. The force behind the assault was overpowering, and with a yell of pain, he crumpled back to the ground, awake, but un-moving.

"What have you done to him?" Obi-wan asked with concern and modest anger.

"Nothing. Only made his injuries feel as if they were new, I did. Now, destroy 'you' I will."

Yoda charged forward and Obi-wan brought his blade down to meet the imposter's, similarly blocking and parrying a triple attack to his sides that required great skill to defend. With a grunt, it leaped back into the air again and tried to send a blast of energy down at him, but Obi-wan was ready and he quickly caught and reflected the energy with his saber, sending Yoda towards the floor, the first successful move despite him being able to land on his feet.

"Do better than that, you'll need to, especially if to save your friends, you wish."

The creature sprinted back towards him with a fury and Obi-wan found it difficult to block the volley of blows that he used to attack him from each forward angle. After about thirty or more attempted rapid attacks, Yoda leaped backwards and tried to attack with the force while simultaneously throwing his lightsaber. Obi-wan succeeded in blocking the lightsaber even as it boomeranged back towards his owner, but felt the blunt of the force assault Even as Yoda landed gracefully to his feet, Obi-wan fell to his knees.

"So, General Kenobi is at an end, hmm?" He goaded followed by a sinister laugh.

Obi-wan still had fight left in him, and he was not inclined to give up so easily, but he knew even with Ferus their chances of winning were slim, and now without him it wouldn't be much longer before they were both dead. Yoda prepared to jump into the air when the hanger was rocked by a powerful explosion and both turned to see a gap roughly twelve meters wide through which the wreckage of an AT-PT now rested in flames, it's appearance scattering wreckage and fire their way. Obi-wan used this as his opportunity.

Jumping back to his feet, the Jedi Master force pushed the Yoda several more feet away, and then ran to the side just in time for the evil creature to recuperate and attack the spot he had just occupied. Hoping to finally have the edge on him, Obi-wan sent his saber flying towards the imposter's head, a move which he actually barely managed to block. Obi-wan's lightsaber flew back to his hand, and he prepared for another strike, but unfortunately, Yoda anticipated him quicker, and within a second the imposter was saber locked with him, and the two battled for ground in their lock. Slowly, but surely, the blade slipped closer and closer towards Obi-wan's own face. It was within inches and he could already feel the heat and knew that death was coming soon either from his own or Yoda's saber when suddenly Yoda exhaled violently and his body tensed. For a moment, Obi-wan didn't realize what had happened even as the red blade deactivated, but as he looked down he saw the blue blade that protruded from the torso of the creature. The blade lingered for no more than a second before it deactivated and the hilt flew back several feet away where Ferus lay, appearing like the toss had cost him more energy than he had even as Yoda fell to the floor with a soft thud.

"Wonder how long that'll keep you down...I do." Ferus said weakly before rolling over on his side with a gasp of pain.

"Ferus, are you..." Obi-wan started and began to move towards him, but the other Jedi cut him off.

"Don't worry about me...at least he didn't 'actually' stab me this time." He smugly commented with as much dry humor as he could muster while mustering the strength to lift himself up. "Come on, let's get out of here, we still have a battle to fight."

Ferus got to his feet, but before Obi-wan could move, the creature grabbed his leg. Looking down at the being as it died, Obi-wan felt pity for the creature, as evil as it might be, and wished it a quick death. Knowing it was on it's last breaths, it looked up straight into Obi-wan's eyes with a fiery deviance that shocked him for something on it's death bed. Struggling to gather it's breath it spoke it's last words with less effort than expected.

"More...there shall...be..."

With a final grunt, the creature collapsed face down, and Obi-wan broke himself free of it's lifeless grip.

"I can only imagine what that means." Ferus said with veiled sarcasm.

Obi-wan sighed as they both ran towards the nearest exit out of the hanger. "Despite the magnitude of the threat, I'd say it's low on our priorities just at the moment."

The duo came close to the doors leading outside, but before being able to exit, Threepio came out from a different direction, hands waving in the air.

"Sirs, I have an urgent message from the palace! Mistress Padme was most disturbed when she couldn't reach you on your com links."

Obi-wan sighed once again, he never did care much for droids. "I'm sure she does, and we're already on our way to help her now."

"Ah, wonderful!...But, shouldn't you be headed for the fighters then, sir?"

Ferus and Obi-wan exchanged looks. "Fighters? Why?"

The two hadn't bothered to notice until now the pilots that were running across the hanger and navigating their fighters out and up towards space. Obi-wan could already imagine the worse, but Threepio could already be counted on to say it for him.

"The situation here is mostly taken care of, I don't believe the Imperial garrison expected the resistance to have anything more than a few speeders..."

"Whatever the problem is, I'm sure the pilots can handle it, as well as Ferus. I'd much rather keep my feet on the ground for this one." Obi-wan said. Unlike some things, his feeling about flying hadn't changed.

"Very well sir, Mistress Padme and the Queen could use someone to help her I suppose...they just wanted you to know that an Imperial fleet has arrived..."

"_Great_." Ferus sarcasticly mentioned. "They seem to be gaining a reputation for perfect timing. I guess I'll be off then."

"But sir!"

But it was too late, Ferus was already running towards one of the remaining fighters before Threepio could continue.

"Come along now, Threepio, this is no place for a droid." Obi-wan tried to persuade him, but the droid simply stayed where he was.

"Sir, they mentioned there were two fleets in orbit."

The blood began to slowly withdraw from Obi-wan's face even before he could speak.

"_Two_ fleets you say?" He asked, managing not to wince or grimace.

"Oh, yes sir, it appears that they saw some sort of opportunity, and now there is a Separatist fleet as well."


	27. Battle of Naboo

Once again, I want to think everyone for their continued support. If you watch my videos on YouTube, you might have noticed I haven't added any new videos recently (my graphics card went out), but I'm glad to say that in the next few weeks, it should be fixed and I'll be back on my main computer. In addition, I have some good news for the story. As of this chapter, there are only ten more chapters left after this! Keep reading and reviewing and get ready for the upcoming sequel (which will be in the form of a tv-series type sequel before the 'official' sequel later on this coming year) and thank you again!

Chapter Twenty-Six:

**Battle of Naboo**

Viceroy Gunray gazed down at the luscious world below that he'd once before claimed as his own only to end up losing it and part of his army in a matter of weeks. His skin mottled with a broad grin as he thought of how different the circumstances would be this time.

"Captain, what is the status of their defense systems?"

Their was a brief pause. He knew that protocol would have the entire system scanned as soon as they exited hyperspace, but pilot's rarely transmitted information to the captain's pad unless there was any actual threats. What Gunray hadn't expected was for there not to have already been the slightest apparent threat.

"The planetary shields are offline, no ships of note in system." Finally came the captain's raspy voice.

Gunray's grin shrank slightly and became more confused. _Surely they aren't foolish enough to leave themselves defenseless when they've had more than sufficient time to spot us...it must be a trap!_

"What about their ion cannon net? Are any of their weapon systems enabled?"

"No, sir, all their defensive capabilities seem to be offline at the moment."

Immediately, Gunray's confused returned to oblivion and his grin returned two-fold. This was even better than he'd expected. He'd come feeling he might lose one or two ships from his fleet when he realized that he wouldn't need even half what he brought. _Perfect._

"No defenses you say...not even fighters?" The viceroy commented more than asked, a special glistening in his red eyes beginning to show.

"None." The captain confirmed, to which Gunray turned back to the planet and stared with impossibly more lust and malevolence than thought possible.

"_Excellent_...bring the long guns online and begin targeting their military and flight installations, I don't want to risk any _surprises_ this time. Then, begin launching the fighters, bombers, and transports to land on the outskirts..."

"Sir!" The pilot urgently interrupted him. "there is a ship taking off from the planet!"

Gunray stiffened. The surprise attack had come at last.

"Is it their fighters?"

"No, sir, _H_-type Nubian Yacht. Course appears to originate from Theed."

Gunray's large eyes narrowed as he looked towards the central-forward section of the bridge directly at the pilot's seat. These pilots were highly logical and swift, but their voices always seemed to hold a melodramatic tone when making announcements. His gaze shifted quickly, however, once he caught an eye for the tiny chrome covered ship and a new thought crossed his mind...instead of trying to fight the fleet, they left their defenses offline hoping it would stir a diversion long enough to allow their Queen to escape! _Ha! That will never happen again! _Gunray gripped the back of the pilot's massive seat with compelling avidity.

"Order all ships to use point defense and ion cannons only...I want it _disabled_!"

The turrets aboard the ship had already began tracking as the ship closed towards the outer defense zone when the pilot spoke up again.

"Sir, the yacht is hailing us."

Gunray scratched his chin as he pondered his response. "Audio only."

There was no pause as a voice came across the speakers, sounding distressed, but attempting to remain calm.

"_Lucrehulk_ commander, this is Moff Panaka of the Chommell sector. Please do not fire! I have reinforcements on the way, but if you leave now I promise you will be rewarded and I will make sure you do not come to harm."

Gunray couldn't help but let out a laugh, smiling simply didn't seem to be sufficient anymore to the Viceroy for how well events had played out. It all made sense now, some how a disaster had struck the Imperial's administration on the planet, and now the sector governor was trying to escape...only he found himself between the planet he had lost and a fleet that would never let him leave. There was a deafening silence as it had surely became clear to the Moff what the Neimodian had in mind.

"Moff Panaka," Gunray spoke with utmost contempt. "while your offer does..._intrigue _me, I'm afraid I can think of a much better offer. Just be grateful it still involves keeping you alive...for now."

"You can't..." Panaka started, but before he could get another word out, countless flashes of red and blue-white lanced out at the ship.

Most of the first wave missed, intended to act more as an impenetrable barrier as a concentrated attack would have almost assuredly instantly vaporized the ship. Immediately following the outbreak of fire, the ship banked violently upwards and to the left as he attempted to follow a path with the least amount of fire. With so many ships and likewise turrets to track his ship, however, there was no where for him to run, and after another few seconds, the haze created by lasers against shields disappeared and a blue beam enveloped the ship, causing its lights and engines to fade out

"Hold fire!" Gunray issued with a snap, the turrets falling silent a second later.

The viceroy took a moment to stare at the ship as it drifted slowly under no controls, just another miniscule object orbiting the system, even if only for a moment. Victory swiftly took it's place in his mind though as he could have never hoped for a better result in the battle. Now it had become impenetrably deeply imbedded in his mind that no day could possibly ever become better than this. Some how, the universe found a way to sink in deeper and wipe the delusion from his mind.

"I want a tractor beam on that..."

"Sir!" The pilot screamed out, once again forcing him to pause. "Multiple ships coming out of hyperspace..._Imperial_ capital ships, sir!"

In an instant, the glisten in his eyes disappeared and his skin took on a paler green appearance as the screen display changed from the planet Naboo to behind the fleet, showing a very organized, and large flotilla of ships. The warning did little good, however, as almost as soon as he saw them, turbolasers and ion cannons splashed ravenously, yet harmlessly off the shield's of the fleet. Even as the Separatist fleet began maneuvering around to face the Imperials and return fire, a continuous volley of fire had opened up on them, now including missiles and torpedoes as well.

Gunray thought of orders to yell, but he didn't bother. So much was already going on, and the fleet taking over without him, he slowly faded from importance and watched as his ships slung countless red bolts back across space and soon fighters joined the fray from either side. The Viceroy just nervously watched as the fighting become ever more intense by the second, the ships moving closer and closer to point blank range and the casualties racking up. It wasn't until a _Lucrehulk_-class destroyer found itself between a _Venator_ and _Victory_-class that he seemed to be drawn to reality, watching as the shields failed from a relentless assault and finally a group of missiles slammed into the front core; the bow broke off like a chopped onion and then the entire ship erupted as a flash-forward supernova, the bridge windows temporarily going opaque even as debris evaporated against the shields of the Republic and Separatist ships alike.

"Captain..." The Viceroy started, but then lost himself for words. After a few moments of waiting, the captain looked back at him, and slowly the words caught back up with him.

"Concentrate fire on the command ship." He said in a fluster not that of a predator, but of prey caught in a corner. "Take them out one by one."

"We're doing our best, sir, but the Imperials are out flanking us. We can't concentrate on one for more than a minute before they break formation and provide cover."

Gunray prepared to become impertinent with the other Neimodian when a small shock made him grasp the pilot's seat again even as the pilot announced the new arrivals to the battle.

"Sir, the Naboo have launched their fighters. They're coming on our rear."

The Viceroy noticeably winced as he saw the disarray. The screen split into two images, one showing the close up battle with the various star destroyers and the other showing distinctive N-1s launching proton torpedoes towards the Separatist fleet and then disappearing over the top before appearing up front, quickly getting lost in the battle with the other fighters.

"Sir...they're firing on the Imperial's as well!"

_At last some relief._ Gunray thought. Despite their small numbers, at least they were choosing to attack the other guys as well. The battle remained anything but hospitable, however, as the N-1s formed back up into formation and launched a dozen torpedoes into the forward weakened shields of a _Victory_ destroyer; the forward section breaking off and then moments later space was wrecked by another violent explosion, leaving nothing behind but more death and destruction. He couldn't help but to wince again as more debris crashed against the shields of the battleship, causing an invisible force to send tremors throughout the ship. The Viceroy had had all he could take of this battle, his race was never privy to many battles without getting squeamish.

"Order the retreat!" He barked in a panic, fearing at any moment the shields might collapse under the new found stress. "We can reform at..."

"More ships coming in, sir!" The pilot announced.

_He must get something out of cutting me off each time. _Gunray thought to himself, but bit back the comment as his concern was far more concentrated on the new arrivals. Without having to ask for more information, however, the pilot continued with better news than expected.

"Unidentified makes, varying identification marks. I can't provide much more information without respective transponder codes."

In reality, the Viceroy wouldn't need the codes to recognize the ships, even though he hadn't seen a one of them before. It was one of freedom fighter groups he'd heard rumors of, those of different worlds who chose to become dissidents by fighting against the Empire. There were no pirates, bounty hunters, or other scum of the galaxy, at least none that he knew of, who they allied themselves with. Just one large group that was trying to consolidate whoever they could, and now Viceroy Gunray was fortunate enough to have found himself at their next stop. Perhaps the day had once again taken a turn for the better.

"Never mind that...ignore previous orders, contact whoever's in command of their fleet. We have an edge on them now."

**xXx**

Energy bolts hammered the shields as the ship rocked in response, the force of which would have knocked Kara off her feet even if she stabilized herself with the force. So far only the Imperial ships had targeted the fleet, but even that was enough to destabilize the order. Two _Venator_ and _Victory_-class cruisers and a single _Imperator_ broke off to engage the Rebel's directly while the remainder of the fleet only fired if they had cannons pointing in their direction to spare. The tight cluster that Kara had ordered the fleet into would protect them for a few minutes, but after that the death count would rise quickly.

"Commodore, inform the other captains to begin calculations for hyperspace. We'll regroup in the Rugosa system."

Trald began tapping buttons to make the connection when from the lower tier of the bridge, the comm officer raised a hand and announced a requested transmission.

"What do the Imperial's want now? Grovelling before their impending victory?" Kara asked.

"Actually, ma'am, it's from the Separatist flagship. Apparently Viceroy Gunray is aboard and is proposing a temporary coalition."

None of the other crew spoke, but Kara could feel the ripple of emotions that stirred at the mentioning of both the Separatists and one of their oldest co-founders, one of which was supposed to be dead along with the others. As if enough hadn't happened within the last few weeks, it seemed the galaxy had finally lost all sense of functioning and decided to start working backwards.

"Put him through, on screen."

The forward window opaqued and the view displayed the rear of a _Lucrehulk_-class battleship with Gunray standing alone in the center.

"Viceroy Gunray..." Kara started off, her tone even, but just enough to not betray her abhorrence. "I am Jedi Knight Bastian. Speak quickly."

Gunray winced slightly, but otherwise remained unchanged as his ship took several hits before bowing his head slightly.

"It is a great honor to be..."

"Your proposal, Viceroy?" She curtly silenced him, fire continuing to pound the fleet's combined shields with a fiery rain as they held, waiting on orders to jump. "I believe we're both in a tenacious situation."

"Y-yes, indeed." He agreed with a nervous laugh, obviously choosing to ignore the previous comment. "I propose we cease hostilities and fight our common enemy."

"Ah, so a truce then?"

The Viceroy paused for a moment, caught off guard by the clarity in the synonym. The commodore called her name, most likely trying to call attention to the urgency of their situation, but even the engrossing fleet could wait in her mind right now. She wanted to begrudge her former enemy a few moments longer before they had to fight. It was the least he could pay for all the deaths he'd caused, and while the light side of the force taught her forgiveness, it didn't suggest it had to be immediate.

"Yes. We combine our fleets and out flank them. I doubt we can destroy their fleet, but we should be able to force them back and withdraw." He agreed at last.

Kara nodded. "You underestimate the power of the force...but that aside, we agree to a temporary unconditional truce, and we shall fight until we win."

With the motion of her hand, she ordered the connection cut and half the tension left the room. The rest exitted as she nodded again and a single word echoed the room. _Fire!_

Turbolasers, ion cannons, missiles...every weapon the fleet had in it's arsenal fired with a thunder that could shake the fabric of space. The space between the two closing contenders becoming thick from the amount of weapons fire to the point it seemed impossible to drive a needle between the space. The Rebel's combined shield power had been enough to repel the Imperial's fire, but once they returned fire, the _Imperator _star destroyer's commander had his ships spread out as the weapons pumpled his personal flotila's shields. The Venators held back just behind the Imperator as they released a wave of reserve fighters from their forward deck while the Victorys broke off and headed to either side of the fleet, trying to attack at the sides where the shields would be weaker and likewise be able to block escape. Kara would commend him for his bright thinking if she hadn't had an even better move in mind.

"Order all ships to target all ion cannons, and ion cannons only, at each of those Victory cruisers."

The fire that had been directed forward towards the main formation somewhat redirected as volleys of blue-white energy cut into the shields of the flanking ships, and after three barrages, collapsed to scatter across armor. Lights flickered and died and turrets fell silent in the impacted areas, but missiles and other cannons still continued to fire. She waited until the ships had glided further back so they were almost behind the fleet and then...

"All ships with concussion missiles, target their shield generators and engines and fire." She ordered, gaining a confused look from the commodore even as the crew carried it out.

"Why concussion missiles?" She asked.

Explosions rippled across the Victory's engine banks and shield globes above the command tower. The engines on the ships flickered for a few seconds, but finally the blue hue died down. Taking a glance at the tactical display, Kara smiled as she saw the two ships blink from the display and turn gray.

"Because commodore, they will disable with far fewer casaulites than torpedoes."

"Your compassion is compelling, I just hope it doesn't get us killed."

Fighters and bombers from the Venators caught up with the fleet, joining in on the fight and adding strain to the point defense guns that now had dozens of targets to track. Most commanders would release their own fighters to deal with the onslaught, but she knew that's what the Imperial commander wanted, being in a perfect position to take out as many as possible while they launched. Instead, she knew her guns would be sufficient for now to deal with them while she took out their motherships.

"Focus all fire on the lead ship." She ordered, continuing to look at the commodore as she spoke. "Commodore, have us target this area with the heavy guns."

Kara punched in a target from her seat and it appeared before the commodore and at the closer tactical officer's computer. Trald appeared puzzled again as she looked over the information.

"This is right below the pyramidal superstructure, there's nothing vital there."

Kara simply smiled. "I know. Fire."

Trald sighed, but was confident in the decision and seconds later, a heavy ion bolt fired from above either of the side hangers and from either side of the bridge, followed shortly by six heavy turbolaser bolts, two from either hanger section, and one from the center cannon in the bank of three to each side of the bridge. The shots splashed into the area hard enough to make the ship just barely tilt off course, but it quickly recorrected, and the shields continued to hold.

"Now the ventral cannons."

To each side of the bridge, below on the main structure, three bubble protrusions fired steady bolts towards the spot while the larger bubble that was before either aisle of three fired dual ion shots that cascaded along the shield's surface. The shield's in the destroyer's forward structure glowed orange from the shots, but still it held.

"And now, fire the primary forward cannons."

Now, seeing where Kara was headed with this, she smiled too as the dual massive cannons at the very tip of the ship fired and pounded the center of the star destroyer, not only deactivating the shields put penetrating the armor. In its place was now a glowing twenty meter wide hole that exposed countless decks to space for a brief second before ray shields held back the vaccum. It didn't matter, however, the damage she wanted was done. Moments later the weapons stopped firing from the destroyer.

"The destroyer received heavy damage to their power core and had to shut it down." The scanner operator said. "Their weapons and engines will be down until they get some serious repair work done."

Slowly, the destroyer drifted down and towards starboard while the two Venators swiveled around and headed back for the main formation. Their fighters were quick to follow them. Headed towards the more major fray, Kara noticed the Separatists were holding their own, but hadn't been doing as well, both them and the Imperials having lost a ship since the Rebels started fighting. However, now with no one directly gunning them and more at stake, Kara stood up from the central command chair.

"Commodore, the fleet's yours. I want to lead the fighters out personally."


End file.
